The Daughters Trilogy: Daughters of the Thorn
by ShoutFinder
Summary: She has survived her apprenticeship. Now the young warrior of ThunderClan must uphold her prophecy foretold by the stars, that she will bring peace only through destruction. She must undertake an incredible journey to unite the lost Clan with the four, fulfill an ancient oath, and protect against the shadows of the Clans' past. But she is not alone. Sequel to Daughter of the Sun.
1. The Sun In The Sky

**A/N: Greetings, lovely readers! ShoutFinder here - and I upheld my promise, DahliaStarr, I published this ahead of New Year! Chapters may be slow in coming, but this is the first chapter, so...enjoy!**

**Some of you may know me as the author of _Daughter of the Sun_, but new readers, welcome regardless! This is the direct sequel to _DOTS - _however, I have several companion pieces planned for the future. If you're intrigued and want to get started and NOT go through the twenty-six prequel chapters to _DOtT_, here's a brief overview of what you've missed. If you've already done so, bye-bye, get started on chapter one!**

**...**

**Essentially, it's been five years since the failed Dark Forest invasion - the survivors have been massing together an army bigger, badder and greater than warriors alone. To have Mapleshade put it, they are walking on paths 'even Tigerstar feared to tread'. My main heroine has a destiny to stop the second Dark Forest rising, and through her _extremely_ exhausting apprenticeship she has been guided, watched over and mentored by Aura, a she-kit who came to ThunderClan when she was only two moons old, yet bore more wisdom and knowledge than StarClan. But even though she's survived to becoming a warrior, the pair must now place all their efforts in fulfilling the prophecy StarClan passed down from the mythical beings Time, Change, Fate and Destiny, known collectively as the Four, whence the prophesied's powers originated.**

**The Four watch over the four Clans ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan and ShadowClan and have done so since the founding days. The fifth, SkyClan - as you may remember - decided their own destiny. But they face this danger too, and while they're alone, they're vulnerable and weaken by the day. My heroine's journey now is just beginning, and she has a _massive_ task concerning SkyClan ahead of her...**

**Yet before she left StarClan for good, she received startling news - all omens are interwoven, and have a tendency to return and repeat. As the Daughter of Dovewing, the cat of the Three prophesized to bring peace, it is now my heroine's duty to fulfill the omen, _Peace will come on dove's gentle wing_...but she must also contest with the somber words of the founders, _Kin to the fire, Bane of the tiger -_ the omen that dictates a destiny, and one that has been shared by many cats belonging to the Clan of Destiny...**

**...**

* * *

Chapter One

THE SUN IN THE SKY

* * *

It was a moonless night, the kind of night that brought shivers to even the most fearless warrior's spine, the night when the moon was not present amidst the countless gleaming stars. The shadows were thrown long by the weak starshine, and they appeared menacing, holding secrets, whispering with voices of their own.

The river was peaceful and still, a sliver of silver against the dark gorge. Its stony cliffs loomed over the sun-baked earth, tall and protecting...yet enclosing and trapping at once. That was the way many cats felt on this moonless night—the cats who dwelled in the gorge, the cats who lived by a code of honour, in the ways of the Clan. They felt enclosed and trapped. They knew a storm was coming.

Seated upon the Skyrock, a lithe tom looked over his home, sharp eyes bright with alertness. He flicked the tip of his tail uneasily as a biting wind ruffled his fur the wrong way, but he didn't attempt to shake it out. He didn't think he could sleep if he tried to. It wasn't because he was cold; it was because he was afraid.

_Stay calm,_ he instructed himself firmly. _Stay calm. It won't do you any good to be scared. So what's the point?_

His gaze continued to furtively glance at the shadows. He wished that he wasn't alone. He glanced up at the sky to the glittering stars, as though offering a tribute to his warrior ancestors that prowled the night high above his head. "Please, StarClan," he breathed, his whiskers trembling. "If you can hear me..."

Before he could say another word, the shadows moved—fear jumped into his throat, freezing his voice, and the tom was on his paws in a heartbeat.

"H-hello?" he yowled into the gorge. His fear increased when he received no response.

Many heartbeats passed by, unheard, in the sudden silence. They pulsed in the tom's ears. His paws trembled on the Skyrock. _Oh, StarClan, why tonight, why this night?_ The thoughts thrummed as loud as his heart in his mind. The tom lashed his tail, too restless to sit still. Again he checked the dens—the nursery, the elders' hollow, the warriors' den, the dark mouth atop the craggy ledge where his Clan leader slept...

_Am I just jumping at my own imagination?_ the tom wondered briefly. He slowly, gingerly, sat back down atop the Skyrock, trying to control the frenzied beating of his heart. _Look, it's almost moonhigh...then I can go to my den...get the next sentry...just...try to forget this night._

Yet he'd happily serve another sentry duty if it meant he wouldn't do it on his own. _I know something bad's going to happen,_ he groaned inside, but he didn't speak these words aloud. He knew the shadows were unsafe. They were eerie and gave him the shivers, and that always wasn't a good sign. _I just _know_ it...don't hurt us, please don't hurt us..._

Right before his eyes, he saw the shadows flicker again—and suddenly they parted, like water breaking on the shore. Out of the murk stepped a slender black tom, his long legs as unusual as his extremely lithe frame. He stalked across the hard sun-bleached stone beneath his paws as though he owned the gorge.

Terror spiked the tom's fur and he jumped to his paws. He opened his jaws to sound the alarm, but suddenly there was a rustling of fur behind him. The tom whirled around, but by then it was too late. Claws flashed before his eyes, and then there was nothing more.

* * *

The pain was real—it sliced straight into his neck, and Blackfur leapt to his paws as though stung by a wasp. He stifled a low shriek of pain and staggered, his forefoot pressed against his neck as it throbbed and ache a sharp, brutal agony beneath his spiked fur.

There was a rustle of fur near him and Touslefur looked up drowsily. "Blackfur?" he whispered. "You okay?"

The dark tom shook his head. "No...no, something isn't right." He lowered his paw and looked out of the warriors' den. "Oh, great StarClan..." Horror weighing in his stomach like a stone, Blackfur raced to the mouth of the cave. _There's no moon..._

Touslefur was on his paws at once. "Blackfur!"

"There's no moon!" Blackfur moaned, sinking against the side of the cave. _Great StarClan, he was right..._ "Have you forgotten so quickly?"

Touslefur bounded up to Blackfur's side. "Forgotten what?"

"What Darkeye told us a few hours ago." Anxiously Blackfur returned his gaze to the twinkling stars. "There's no moon. He said we have to rely on the moon to protect us."

"You know your brother's a bit of an oddity..." began Touslefur.

"He's not mad!" Blackfur snapped at his denmate. "I know he isn't mad—and I should know! He's had queer thoughts, true, but he was certain about this one, and I think you should listen to him. Look. There isn't a moon in the sky."

Touslefur frowned. "So?" he ventured uneasily. "There...there never is a moon on these nights...the new moon..."

Blackfur shook his head. "This is something else, Touslefur. Something darker. He told us that we have to look to the moon to guard the sky for it leads to a brighter dawn..." His gaze darted to the clearing that stretched below, to the nursery, the elders' den, the Rockpile, the river... "Frecklewish believes that Darkeye is special, too."

"Frecklewish is old. Her eyesight is failing and her judgement is as shaky as her paws."

"But her mind is still as clear as a pond," Blackfur retorted. "Even _Rosespots_ says that we should listen to him."

Touslefur bared his fangs. "Despite who her brother is?"

"Yes, despite that." Blackfur's stomach churned, but he forced the sickening nursery story aside and growled, "If you don't believe me, then tell me why Darkeye isn't on the Skyrock."

Touslefur glanced up, and his eyes widened in horror. "Wh-what? Darkeye? Where's he gone?"

Blackfur's voice sounded strange even to his own ears. "He's dead."

"No!" Touslefur stared in disbelief at Blackfur. "What are you saying? Great StarClan..."

"Just as Darkeye decreed, the moon isn't protecting us," Blackfur growled. "The night is never going to end." He stared into the shadows with growing dismay as he watched a lean black tom—one who he recognized—step out into the starlight. Dark amber eyes were gleaming from the mass of the shadowy tom, and they fixed themselves on the two young warriors.

"I know him..." Touslefur's voice faltered.

"We all do," Blackfur agreed solemnly as behind the deputy of SunClan, rogue warriors joined ranks, lining up beside the Rockpile with satisfied sneers on their scarred muzzles.

* * *

Shiftfury flexed his huge battle-torn shoulders and shot a smirk at the slender, long-legged tom who stood beside him. "Those maggots are still asleep," he purred. "Let's get them."

"Hold your ground," Breezepelt growled, sparing a glance at SunClan's most battle-driven warrior. "We raid SkyClan on my word."

"But they're still asleep!" protested Twistrage, lashing his ginger-spotted tail. "We could take them now, kill them while they're in their very nests!" He shifted from paw to paw, desperate to get started.

"Silence!" Breezepelt snarled. "We do not begin without Sol!"

Shiftfury snorted. "Still licking that tom's fur, are you?" he sneered.

"I'm rather adept at doing it for myself for the time being, thank you," a calm voice intervened from behind. Shiftfury whipped around in shock, as did many members of the battle party—all but one.

"You took your time," Breezepelt mewed dryly.

"Apologies," Sol responded, making his way to the front and lithely seating himself before Shiftfury. The huge smoky-gray tom was still struggling to rein in his shame and surprise. "Perhaps now we can begin."

"Ooh, yes, let's begin, let's begin!" Twistrage hissed eagerly. He slashed his claws on the stone. Breezepelt shot him a furious glare, and Twistrage gulped, stiffening and flattening his ears.

"Stupid mange-fur," Breezepelt muttered, taking care to speak just loudly enough for the thin ginger-and-black tom to hear. He turned back to Sol and reported, "The sentry is taken care of, but in the process we have roused two warriors."

Sol nodded thoughtfully. "Good. Let them know that we have returned. It has been a long time."

"But we are stronger than ever," Breezepelt purred.

"You do well to train them," Sol answered. "Now let's see how much they have learned." He rose to his mottled paws and immediately all SunClan eyes were trained to him. Sol stood stone-still for only a few moments—then he flicked his tailtip forward. The silent signal provoked an incredible response. Bloodcurdling shrieks rent the air and cats raced forward on either side of him, cats howling for blood and screaming for death. Like a thunderous, deadly flood they shot across the gorge towards the array of dens beyond.

* * *

"Attack!" Blackfur could hear Touslefur's terror-rent yowl split the air over the fearsome screeches SunClan were giving. "SunClan is attacking! Get up, fight for your lives!"

Blackfur prayed that the medicine cats would have found someplace safe to hide. Already two SunClan warriors were pacing around the medicine cave.

The strong black tom sprang over the rocks, scrabbling and clawing desperately as pebbles rained under him. He nearly fell off in horror when he heard the first agonized shriek, twisted and distorted with pain, ring through the SkyClan camp.

_Come on..._Muscles screaming, Blackfur hauled himself onto the ledge and stumbled forward on weary paws. The Clan leader's cave loomed before his eyes, and he breathed out huskily for a few moments, catching his breath. Was she awake?

She was—a moment later the dark ginger she-cat appeared at the mouth of her den. "What's going on?" she demanded, blue eyes sharp with alertness.

"SunClan...siege..." Blackfur was still catching his breath. "Must help the queens!"

SkyClan's leader's eyes widened. "Tonight?"

"Darkeye was right," Blackfur wheezed. "It's a night of no moon. We're under attack."

"Oh, great StarClan..." She shook her head furiously and bounded forward. "They're fighting now, aren't they? I heard this terrible cry..."

"They need you!" Blackfur gasped. "They need us! The medicine cats..."

The dark ginger she-cat nodded. "Let's go. Lead the way, Blackfur."

Blackfur nodded once to his leader before he set about scrambling down the stony trail that wound towards the camp. Beyond in the faint starlight he could see feline shapes furiously wrestling with one another over the pebbly ground.

As he jumped down from the trail and onto flat stone, he heard a thundering set of unfamiliar pawsteps resound nearby. SkyClan's leader emitted a shocked cry, before everything was lost in a furious whirlwind of teeth and claws. Blackfur gritted his teeth and pushed his attacker off him, but his muscles were aching after his frenzied scramble over the rocks. Pain radiated off him everywhere, and the dazed SkyClan warrior pushed himself shakily to his paws. The SunClan warrior bared his teeth and sneered.

"Run home to your mother, maggot-breath!"

"Not before you, mange-fur!" Blackfur shot back. The SunClan warrior hissed and charged, long claws gleaming. Blackfur twisted out of the way of the brunt of the attack and countered with a fierce kick that sent the SunClan warrior sprawling.

"Touslefur!" Blackfur twisted away and bounded into the fray. _Please, let him be safe..._ "Touslefur, where are you?!" A split-heartbeat later, he caught sight of the tufted-furred warrior holding his own against a small black tom—and one that Blackfur knew all too well.

"Get away from him!" Blackfur shrieked, racing towards the SunClan warrior—one of the most deadly, with an even deadlier past—but teeth pricked his tail and hauled him back. Blackfur restrained a pained yelp as he fell on his bad shoulder, the one where fresh wounds were bleeding freely from his first attacker's claws. Grit worked its way into the wound and he restrained an agonized yowl.

A shadow passed over his vision. "Die, filth!" snarled the shape, exposing bloodied fangs. Blackfur's eyes widened and he struggled, but suddenly all the air was shut off from his body. Fangs dug into his throat and he thrashed like a landed fish, desperate for breath. His claws slashed at his attacker, but they came away only with clumps of fur. Blackfur tasted blood in his mouth and felt his vision cloud.

Suddenly the pressure eased and Blackfur felt his body crash against the ground. He gasped for breath, and it stung like a thousand claw wounds as he coaxed air back into his strangled body. He coughed blood and felt his body shake uncontrollably. _Great StarClan, I'm going to join my brother..._

But a sudden familiar yowl of pain made Blackfur lift his head, made adrenalin shoot through his body. _Touslefur!_ The brown tom was fighting against one of SunClan's most deadly warriors...

_He needs me!_ Blackfur, swallowing back against the pain, heaved himself onto unsteady paws. Blood was pulsing freely from his wounds and his vision was spinning, yet pure fear for his friend—now the only one he had left—was giving him strength. He dragged himself across the ground, all other sounds muted and dead to him. He caught glimpses of SkyClan warriors thrashing and fighting against SunClan warriors. Shiftfury was fighting both Squirreltail and Crowfall at once, and though the two young SkyClan warriors were holding their own, patches of their fur were missing and they looked exhausted. Twistrage was biting and slashing at Nettlesplash, though the pale brown tom was holding his own well.

Then there was Bloodsun—one of the most feared SunClan warriors, pinning Touslefur down with long, deadly claws. A satisfied hiss on the black tom's face, he lunged for the killing bite.

"Leave him alone!" Blackfur shrieked, hurling himself upon the SunClan cat. He knocked Bloodsun from Touslefur, but the small tom was agile and landed on his paws before he'd even touched the ground. Blackfur, wheezing badly, stood over Touslefur, who lay bruised and injured under him.

_What am I doing?_ The thought flashed through Blackfur's mind. _I can't face him! Not like this!_

Bloodsun hissed with delight. "Blackfur, isn't it?" he exclaimed. His voice was just as high and as cold as Blackfur remembered it—and it still sent an icy shudder crawling up his backbone. "Well, at least you'll die facing your death—the same can't be said for your brother!"

Blackfur felt horror flood through him. "You killed Darkeye."

"And I'm ready to kill more!" Bloodsun spat. "Starting with _you!_" Fast as a swallow, he darted forward. Blackfur tried to move his body out of the way but suddenly agony raced up his backbone like fire, and he sank to his paws. He lashed out blindly but Bloodsun was too fast, too dangerous...there was a gleam of bloodlust in the SunClan warrior's eye as the dark tom lunged toward him.

Suddenly there was a flash of brown fur and a single screech. Bloodsun fell back, howling with pain, a long gash near his neck—Touslefur fell before him, crimson welling from his throat, his eyes dull.

"Touslefur!" Blackfur screamed.

"Too late," Bloodsun rasped, an inane purr rumbling in his throat. "_Too late!_" Choking on his own blood, the SunClan warrior sped away into the battle, slowly beginning to die down.

Blackfur was left staring at the body of his denmate, watching as Touslefur's lifeblood slowly pooled around him and stained his brown fur scarlet.

* * *

"_Enough!_"

The single, desperate yowl rent the air, and just like that, the battle ceased. Breezepelt looked towards where SkyClan's leader stood atop the Rockpile, her fur torn in many places, her eyes wide with disbelief and fear.

_Fear_. Breezepelt's paws itched. _Finally. Took that stubborn she-cat long enough._ He stalked away from Rabbitleap's limp form and to the base of the Rockpile. "You've had all that you SkyClan warriors can handle from SunClan's warriors?" he called coldly to her. "I thought SkyClan cats were _good_ with endurance."

She glared fiercely back at him. "Enough with this nonsense, Breezepelt," she snarled. "Take your warriors and go. You have nothing more to gain from this battle."

"We have _plenty _more to gain from this!" Shiftfury yowled from near the nursery. Breezepelt saw with satisfaction that he had dragged one of the queens out of the shadows there by the scruff of her neck and placed a bloodied claw near her throat. She was whimpering in plain terror.

The dark ginger she-cat who stood atop the Rockpile stared in dismay at the trapped queen, then closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She said evenly, "We have lost enough tonight."

"You've hardly lost anyone," called Redclaw, the starshine catching on the long scar on his flank. "We're only just getting started!"

"Don't expect any more endurance out of these warriors," growled Twistrage. He tipped his lean head to one side and exclaimed wildly, "They're half-_kittypet!_ They're all softpaws, every one of them!"

"You have killed many of our warriors over the moons," Breezepelt heard a gray she-cat meow from the base of the Rockpile. _Stormblaze_, he remembered—and it was the last part of her name that made his claws scratch furiously on the rocks, made his blood boil in his body. "Many of them day warriors. You have killed our warriors tonight."

"Leave," growled Harryheart. "You've done enough here."

"Enough, you say?" Breezepelt felt fur lightly brush against his flanks, but he didn't move as Sol appeared before him and the rest of SkyClan—some of who remembered him with barely-restrained fury—his eyes mellow and calm but his voice as powerful as the Dark Forest. "_Enough?_ Oh, but we are just beginning. This is but a _taste_ of the fate that SkyClan has chosen."

"SkyClan makes its own destiny," snarled their leader.

Sol restrained a bitter laugh. "Your destiny is to _die_," he answered. "Die to SunClan claws, _kittypet_."

"Bold words for one who lived in a Twoleg nest for the beginning of his life, _Harry_." The dark ginger she-cat's words were scornful, filled with hatred—but what surprised Breezepelt was the single word. He glanced at Sol to see him pause, thoughtful on the outside, but shocked within.

"That never was my name," he answered at last, his voice as smooth and as condescending as before. "Never."

"Whatever your name may be, your presence here is needless." She jerked her head towards the entrance to the gorge. "You and your warriors, get out. Enough blood has been spilled this night."

"Not enough blood has stained our claws," Sol called back, raw satisfaction thrumming in his voice. He lifted his voice so he spoke to all of SkyClan. "You think that with the loss of Aura, we're weakened. But you fail to understand that without her, we are strong regardless—with her, we would have been stronger, and you would all have been _dead_ by now. Gone to join your false ancestors."

"You dare speak blasphemy against our ancestors!" Stormblaze shrieked, her fur bristling with barely-restrained fury.

"Your ancestors have no power anymore," Sol answered. "Your medicine cats are only healers now—they no longer speak and listen to the stars or commune with the dead. The time of the stars is _over_—and they will _perish_ to the rising sun that dominates the sky."

He gave a single nod to the speechless SkyClan cats. "Think on my words," he growled. "You have nobody but yourselves to stand against us and the rising Forest. Think on them, and perhaps, at last, delusional warriors will come to their senses."

He raised his tail and twitched the tip. Silently, wordlessly, the SunClan cats fell back to their leader, walking calmly to his side as though they owned the gorge. Shiftfury gave a low hiss of disappointment and released the queen before stalking back to his Clanmates' sides.

Breezepelt mulled over Sol's words. _Stars, sun and sky..._

He looked up at the sky above him, beginning to pale with dawn—_their_ dawn. _The sun is rising, the stars are fading and the sky is_ _changing..._The dark tom paused. _How curious. The only thing that is missing, both in the world and in Sol's promise, is the moon..._

* * *

**A/N: If you want more Warriors, you can get started on the first chapter of my home country-based Warriors series, 'Wilderness'. Check it out on my profile - oh, and as always, please share your thoughts of my writing, lovely readers - and Happy New Year! Shout is Out.**


	2. Twisted Paws

**A/N: Phew! Well, I've missed my deadline. Bother! But these updates, both for Wilderness and this one, will be weekly. I had it in my head that I first uploaded this thing on Saturday, being the genius I am...and these updates should be regular! I'm already working on chapter nine to when I wrote this author's note. Anyway - read on, patient, darling readers! Read on!**

* * *

Chapter Two

TWISTED PAWS

* * *

Sunrays shone through the knotted foliage, falling between the stretching, budding boughs of branches yet to weather and harden to the world around them. Though they were small, they were heavy with deep green leaves, and grass grew lush and wild upon the ground and around their roots. The bark, for so long blackened, was covered in thick springy layers of tender moss and hazel-brown skin.

Beneath the Sky Oak stood a young she-cat. Her fur was a dusky-gray, sleek and thick around her slender, lean-muscled frame. One paw was resting on a bulbous root that protruded amidst the shoots of wild young grass. She stood at an angle that allowed her to look over the great expanse of revived woodland that enfolded her with a leafy embrace.

_After so long, life has returned to the forest of ThunderClan._ The young warrior could feel a soft purr rumbling in her throat. In the wake of the devastating fire that had devoured ThunderClan hunting grounds, new life had blossomed with incredible enthusiasm, and new life meant more prey.

She closed her eyes, blue as twilight and clear as water. Though she could feel energies mysterious and strange, reckless and unruly flowing in her blood and echoing in her soul, she did not choose to unleash the beyond-mortal powers she had at her command; there was no need. No, instead she breathed in deeply, savouring the scents of the forest, scents she had missed for so heart-achingly long. The leafy tang of the trees, the rustic scent of grass, the aroma of wildflowers drifting on a sleepy greenleaf breeze...

_Life has come back to stay._ The purring in her throat ceased a little. _Because of me, and yet...not._

Suddenly she heard a crashing of paws thundering in the dense, tangled bracken that lay beyond. Immediately the warrior opened her eyes and angled her senses towards the source of the sound. A split-heartbeat later a young thrush whirled out from the shelter of the trees, shrilling an alarm call. An enormous tom was leaping into the air after it, twisted paws reaching for the fast-vanishing feathers. Suddenly the cries of the thrush were cut short and the tom crashed back down to the ground, trapping the stunned animal beneath strangely-turned forepaws.

The tom had angled his forelegs into a bizarre position in order to trap the bird, which he dispatched with a single bite to the neck. The thrush lay limp and still beneath him, and the faint odour of fresh-kill tingled the whiskers of the two cats.

"Well caught!" the gray warrior praised.

The black-and-white tom looked up and his ears flicked forward in delight. "Good day, Skymoon!" he called, stepping carefully off his thrush. "I hope I didn't bother you."

"Not at all, Jaggedpaw," Skymoon answered with a purr of amusement. She nodded to the thrush and added, "I take it your assessment is going well?"

Jaggedpaw nodded. "Though I suppose you probably already knew that," he added sheepishly, with a swish of his tail.

Skymoon's eartip flicked. "Even if I didn't possess insight," she mewed gently, "I'd still have asked the same thing." Her gaze lingered a little on Jaggedpaw's paws. "Your forefeet are giving you no trouble."

Jaggedpaw shook his head. "They've never given me trouble—and they won't in the future, either." He gave a small purr. "I'm proud of them, actually. They're what define me, and in a way, I'm glad that my forepaws aren't like others. After all," he added with a satisfied mew, "it was what saved the Clan once."

Skymoon nodded, dwelling on the memory only for a short moment. She briefly dipped her head to the apprentice and mewed, "Well, I suppose I shouldn't keep you. There's plenty more prey to be had. For once, food is plentiful."

"A true blessing from StarClan," Jaggedpaw nodded. He kicked a bit of grass over his thrush. "It's not quite sunhigh yet—I'll see if there's anything else I can uncover. If you see Spottedheart pass this way, could you...?"

"Of course. You go on—and I'll be sure to get a good seat at your ceremony."

"We'll pass?" Jaggedpaw's eyes lit up.

Skymoon purred. "I said _at your ceremony_. Not necessarily today—and I'll leave it to your mentors and your skill, not to Fate and Time, to decide."

Jaggedpaw nodded. "All right, then. See you later, Skymoon!" Just as suddenly as he had come, he had vanished, whisking away into the trees with the speed of any straight-pawed cat.

_Fate and Time..._Skymoon gave a small sigh. It had been a long time since she had last thought so of the Four.

Once again the clearing around the Sky Oak was silent, leaving the warrior alone with her thoughts. The former elation she had been feeling had departed, to be replaced with gut-chewing worry and responsibility, feelings she had not been experiencing since she had been made a warrior five moons ago.

_Five moons..._Skymoon turned her gaze to the clear greenleaf sky above. _How time flies. Frostpaw and Jaggedpaw are nearly warriors now—we'll be sharing the same den soon enough, just as we did all the way back in our kithood—Thrushsong's kits are soon to be made apprentices, and it won't be long before we'll have three more warriors after Frostpaw and Jaggedpaw to add to the warrior's den..._

She gave a small sigh, half-contented, half-sorrowful. _Despite the cats we lost, we've recovered, and we've never lost our strength. So why am I so worried?_

She snorted at this. _Of course. It's because no matter how hard I'll try, I'll never have a normal life._

"I guessed you'd be out here."

Skymoon only half-glanced over her shoulder; her insight and sense of smell had already informed her who had silently emerged out of the bracken bordering the clearing. Even so, she was vaguely surprised at the visitor; she'd really been expecting Aura to come and find her, not Dovewing.

"Mother," she greeted quietly.

"Daughter," Dovewing replied gently, padding around the Sky Oak. "You look troubled." Her pale amber eyes were pools of warmth, and the older she-cat rasped her tongue once over Skymoon's ear before seating herself beside her.

Skymoon sighed, feeling her shoulders slump. "I am, Mother."

"You know you can tell me."

"I know." Skymoon returned her gaze to the cloud-specked sky. "I'm just worried—worried for what the future holds for the lakeside Clans, and for all of us. Especially for me, and the others."

Dovewing didn't say anything immediately. At length, she mewed, "You're yet to find them, aren't you?"

"I've searched," Skymoon admitted. "I've looked through the Clan's kits. I have some suspicions, but...but I'm afraid if I confront them, I'll only worry them, or even make them afraid of me." She spared her mother a grim glance. "The Clan was when they first heard about _my_ powers, remember. I don't want the others the Four have chosen to go through the same experience."

"But it is a necessary one," Dovewing pointed out.

"Necessary for who?" Skymoon turned away, staring at nothingness. "Mother, Aura was born beyond ready to be stared at, and gawked at, and questioned for the source of her power every single day since she came to the lake. It took moons for the Clans to accept her—and just as long for them to accept me, their own Clanmate. As for me...well, I had friends, and I had my family to look after me, before I could start looking after myself." _Before I met the Four. Before I became a Tiger of Time._

"But I don't want to put the others through the same experience. The Clans already are in turmoil with us—they always are. I still don't trust ShadowClan, not while Hookclaw is deputy." Skymoon's eyes darkened at the memory of the stone-gray tom with the strangely curved claws. "WindClan still attacks a border patrol if they appear even a whisker-length near the stream..."

"But RiverClan treats us well, as a friend rather than enemy," Dovewing reminded her. "They have a debt of thanks for what your ingenuity—and battle talents—did for them and their young ones."

"They're just memories now, Mother—reflections, soon to distort by a single disturbance." With one paw, Skymoon batted at a fallen leaf that had spiraled down just in front of her muzzle. "The wounds between WindClan and ThunderClan haven't healed—and every single moment that we keep up this war with them, the Dark Forest grows stronger."

Dovewing's eyes shadowed. "Dreams, Skymoon?"

"No dreams." Skymoon's countenance darkened. "Not yet, anyway."

A breeze gently rocked the tree branches, and the leaves turned to life, whispering a forest melody. For a moment, mother and daughter fell silent to listen to the sound of the healed woodland. When it passed and a peaceful silence returned, Skymoon drew a shaky breath.

"Mother...when you first learned about your power...did you...did you feel responsible for your Clan? For _all_ the Clans, and their ailments? As though it was your duty to protect every single cat—because you had such power, you thought you could stop any more death from happening?"

Dovewing gave a weary sigh and swept the tip of her gray tail over her paws. "At first, yes," she admitted, her eyes misting over with memory of seasons long past. "I was scared, truthfully. I had no idea that no other cat couldn't sense like I could...and it was difficult living with the knowledge I bore. It affected the relationship between me and Ivypool greatly. We were close as though we'd been born with one body in the beginning. Then we drifted apart...and it wasn't until the Dark Forest battle was right on top of us that she came back to me and we were sisters again." She sighed. "The deaths of those around me haunted me for a long, long time."

"Like Rippletail and Longtail."

"I haven't heard those names in a while. But yes, those two. I hope they hunt well in StarClan. Then, of course, there was the difficulty of keeping the power _secret_." Dovewing's eartip twitched. "There were many secrets in ThunderClan in those days, and when they came out, the truth left claw wounds deeper than the marks the Dark Forest warriors gave us in the battle."

Another warm breeze returned, sweeping low over the grass. It brushed against Skymoon's belly fur, outlining a series of knotted scar tissue that she had received in a battle long ago—the scars were strangely mended because the wounds had not only been reopened in a battle with a Dark Forest she-cat, but splashed by the deadly poison that flowed in RiverClan marshes the day before. Sometimes they still ached, a painful reminder of just a few of the trials that she'd faced in her apprenticeship.

"All through those trying moons," Dovewing went on, "I grew more and more afraid—and more and more reliant on my powers. I was terrified when they seemed to be lost after I visited the Tribe of Rushing Water in the mountains far away, with battle impeding on the horizon. The greater the danger grew, the more responsibility I put on myself to protect my Clan. ThunderClan, the Clan of heroes."

She sighed. "It exhausted me, Skymoon. Such a heavy burden pressing down on my shoulders. It tore at my very heart whenever someone died, when I knew I could have saved them, _especially_ because I carried a Tigermark of Fate." She turned warm eyes to Skymoon and added, "You bear a mark of Time but you are Fate's champion just as much."

"I should be." Skymoon's eyes narrowed. "I'm _your_ daughter, remember. Mother to daughter, father to son, omens are passed down and repeated." She looked up. "I did not have to endure my secrecy for long, and that is a small mercy on my soul. But I still feel the stinging remorse of those who died when I so strongly believed that I could save them."

"You did save many, Skymoon." Dovewing gestured to the forest. "As we speak, two excited apprentices are completing their assessments—two cats who would not have made it to their sixth moon if not for you. Even without their mother, they have shaped into fine, strong young cats, and ones that ThunderClan can be proud of."

Skymoon nodded slowly. "They should be proud to have them. They are our Clanmates, after all, and kin to Firestar."

Dovewing rasped a tongue affectionately over her daughter's ear and added, "Just like you and I, dear. Just like us."

Suddenly the brambles shook at the edge of the clearing. A dappled she-cat sprang from the undergrowth, landing lightly on the soft, young greenleaf grass beneath her paws. She looked breathless, but her expression of fatigue rapidly changed to surprise when she looked up and met the blue and amber gazes of the two warriors standing beneath the great, old oak tree.

"Sorry..." Spottedheart padded more sedately forward, though her eyes darted nervously around the clearing. "I'm just looking for..."

"...Jaggedpaw?" Dovewing finished. She flicked her tailtip to the treeline just beyond. "He went through there."

"He's hunting very well," Skymoon added, nodding to the thrush lying lightly coated in dust and grass seeds not a tail-length from Spottedheart's paws. "You should be very proud of him."

Spottedheart nodded, her eyes shining. "That I am. He's a remarkable apprentice." She exhaled and added, "I'm finding it hard to keep up with him. He's like Runningleap when he was an apprentice!"

"Do you want some assistance?" Skymoon offered.

Spottedheart hesitated. "Is...is that allowed?"

"Of course it's allowed," Dovewing assured the younger warrior. "How many times have I seen my sister assess the skills of her apprentices?" She paused thoughtfully. "Besides, the apprentices aren't working with pair-hunters today. They can have just as many warriors watching over them, assessing their abilities from the shadows."

"I suppose..." Spottedheart bent down and picked up the thrush. "Let's go, then," she mewed, slightly muffled, and led the way into the trees with long, light pawsteps. Skymoon and Dovewing wordlessly and soundlessly fell into step just behind her.

The sun was just as bright through the trees—if not brighter—as it had been in the clearing, yet the air was still comfortably cool beneath the leaning leafy boughs. The grass gently rustled beneath the cats' paws as they bounded through the undergrowth, following the scent trail of the apprentice.

Suddenly Skymoon felt her insight give her a warning twinge, and she slid to a halt at once. Dovewing and Spottedheart did the same.

"Is he nearby?" Spottedheart murmured.

Skymoon nodded and flicked with her tailtip to a small copse of young sorrels just beyond a line of heather. "He's stalking a blackbird," she mewed softly. "Don't disturb him."

Spottedheart nodded and carefully set the thrush down, taking care not to make a single sound. Then on silent paws she crept towards the heather in a long-perfected hunting crouch. Dovewing and Skymoon quickly did the same, and the two gray she-cats slid into place beside the dappled warrior.

Peering through a knot of twiglets, Skymoon caught sight of the black-and-white apprentice. He was little more than a patched shadow thrown against the dark brown bark of the young sorrel tree—holding himself with such patience and control that Skymoon was impressed. He had truly adapted to his twisted forefeet, and even become a better hunter because of it.

_Mapleleaf would be proud of him._ Skymoon felt a familiar twinge of sadness as her mind flicked back to the memory of the orange flecked she-cat who was Jaggedpaw's and Frostpaw's mother. She had died to greencough before her little ones had reached their sixth moon.

The blackbird was pulling hard against a worm in the ground. It was slowly winning the battle. Skymoon flicked her gaze back up to Jaggedpaw, who was daring himself to inch another step closer.

Spottedheart gave a very soft hiss of unease. "If he takes that long he'll miss it," she muttered.

"Have faith," Dovewing murmured back, eyes and ears trained forward with interest. "I think Jaggedpaw has this totally under control."

"I do have faith in his abilities," Spottedheart whispered. "But I think he's judging it wrong this once."

"He'll be fine," Skymoon assured her in an undertone.

The blackbird by then had almost finished pulling the worm out of the ground. Jaggedpaw's eyes narrowed in concentration and he cautiously stepped forward, his body swaying ever so gently to shift his weight between his paws. Suddenly, just as the blackbird was unfolding its wings, the black-and-white tom sprang from the heather without even pausing to gather energy and tension into his hind legs. Yet his leap was perfect—he slammed right into the blackbird and pinned it to the ground. Before it could so much as squawk, his teeth met its neck and it lay dead and limp beneath him, the worm still twitching between its beak.

Dovewing's eyes were round with surprise. "How'd he do that?"

"He's always had very strong hind legs," Spottedheart mewed, her eyes narrowed into slits. "He can pounce quickly—but he still should've pounced earlier. He almost missed that blackbird."

"But..." Dovewing blinked. "He didn't even need to...!"

"A disadvantage can lead to a strength," Skymoon murmured, watching as Jaggedpaw proudly picked up his blackbird with a purr of satisfaction rumbling in his throat, and carried it to a thick clump of grass growing nearby. "Jaggedpaw may just be our fastest hunter in the Clan."

"Remarkable," breathed Dovewing. "I've never seen a cat pounce so quickly..."

Spottedheart gave a small purr of satisfaction. "He's taken the entire Clan by surprise—firstly by growing so big, and then his manner of hunting. He draws strength from forward movement, rather than gathering the energy as we do." She looked up at the sky, her eyes bearing the focused expression of a satisfied mentor. "It's nearly sunhigh. Should we end the assessment here?"

Skymoon glanced at her. "Do you believe that your apprentice is ready to become a warrior?"

Spottedheart twitched the tip of her ear. "He's been ready since he saved the Clan," she mewed lightly. "The Clan will be glad to have him as a full-time warrior."

_Yes, they will._ For a moment, Skymoon's thoughts wandered, and the fur rippled along her backbone. _Is Jaggedpaw the one? Does he bear a Tigermark?_

The grass rustled as Jaggedpaw deposited his recent kill into it, and without so much as pausing to draw breath, he'd bounded way into the trees once more.

_Perhaps._ Skymoon flicked the tip of her tail, her mind racing. _I already had an omen about him once. He has accomplished feats that not many others have even fathomed. But does Jaggedpaw fit? Is he kin to the fire, bane of the tiger?_ The old omen rang in her ears, and she could almost hear Thunder speaking it in her ears all over again. Sudden unease flashed through Skymoon's fur and she twitched her whiskers nervously.

_I must speak with Aura when we return to the hollow._

* * *

Though it had taken time, the gorse barrier had grown back—far more tangled and protective than before, as though the thorns were determined never to be crushed and burned away again.

Even so, as Skymoon approached the briar-lined tunnel, she couldn't help but relive the memory, when the world was red and black, the air was filled with smoke and falling embers, and she stood at the edge of the forest watching as the ring of fire swallowed her Clanmates still trapped within.

Beside her she heard Jaggedpaw eagerly ask his mentor, "Did I do it? Did I pass?"

Spottedheart purred and flicked the tip of her tail lightly over Jaggedpaw's eartips. "Of course you passed, mouse-brain," she replied. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Four pieces of fresh-kill for a morning's work! That's an excellent effort."

For a moment, Jaggedpaw's purr of satisfaction was the only thing Skymoon could hear. Then it faltered a little as he asked in sudden anxiety, "What about Frostpaw? Do you think she did as well as me?"

"You'll have to wait until she returns, and then you can find out for yourself," Dovewing replied. She slipped through the tunnel and into the clearing beyond, where already Skymoon could hear the gentle slur of voices of her Clanmates. Quickly, leaving Jaggedpaw and Spottedheart in private, the young gray warrior followed her mother into ThunderClan's camp.

Just like the rest of the forest, the hollow had recovered over time from the devastating fire. Now it was just as familiar and as welcoming as Skymoon remembered it to be from her kithood. The dens had been rebuilt, new life overtaking the dead brambles they'd been using as temporary walls, grass had grown back and the clearing was full of Clan life. For a moment, Skymoon let her gaze wander, that former elation she had been feeling by the Sky Oak returning to her heart.

A group of warriors lay dozing beneath Highledge, and another group lay just outside their den, sharing fresh-kill caught by an earlier patrol. Two of the Clan's younger apprentices were outside the nursery, playing with the kits. Their mentors were sharing tongues not far away from the medicine den, idly discussing Clan gossip. Near them, the brambles rustled to said den and Jayfeather emerged, a clump of mallow in his jaw. He set them on the sun-baked earth and laid them carefully out to dry. Then he looked over his shoulder and yowled something into the den. It was met with a swift response—not with words, but with quick pawsteps and the appearance of Jayfeather's apprentice, who was also carrying damp mallow.

Skymoon thought back to the final day of her apprenticeship—Jayfeather had foretold that he would have an apprentice in the upcoming half moon, and he had been correct. Though he never showed it, the aging medicine cat was glad of some company and a steady helping paw.

A friendly, familiar mew jolted her out of her thoughts. "Hey, Skyheart! Over here!"

Skymoon rolled her eyes and retorted without so much as glancing at the speaker, "I'm not going to tell you again, Larkflight."

"Oh, go on," a second voice inputted with a _mrrow_ audible in her voice. "Let him have his moment."

Skymoon finally turned towards the two ThunderClan warriors who were lying in their favourite eating spot—beside the fresh-kill pile—and watching her with amusement gleaming in their sharp green eyes. They were also two of her closest friends, Ferndust and Larkflight.

"Where have you been all morning?" the mottled brown-and-black tom asked, sweeping his tail invitingly over a patch of grass just beside him.

Skymoon obliged and settled down beside her two Clanmates. "Out."

"Nothing wrong?" Ferndust's eyes rounded with worry.

"No, nothing wrong." Skymoon pricked the grass absently with her claws. "I just needed some time to think."

Larkflight purred and rasped his tongue over her ear. "Good thing you have all the time you need, then."

Skymoon rolled her eyes at him. "I haven't used my powers in moons, you realize."

"You try not to," Larkflight corrected. "And it's a good thing," he added quickly. "We've had a prosperous newleaf and greenleaf is already being kind to us. The prey's practically leaping into our jaws."

"It is for Jaggedpaw, at least." Skymoon nodded towards where said apprentice was pushing his way through the thorn barrier into the ThunderClan camp with Spottedheart just behind him. Both were carrying his prey he'd caught during his assessment. "He could feed half the Clan with his offerings."

"He caught all that?" Ferndust's ears flicked forward with surprise. "Remarkable!"

"He's a fantastic hunter," Larkflight nodded. "Almost as good as you." He nudged Skymoon pointedly.

"_As_ good," she frowned. "I wouldn't say I'm the best hunter in the Clan. Hazeltail still holds that title."

"Hazeltail's getting on," Larkflight prodded. "Her muzzle's covered with silver. It won't be long before she and her brothers join Poppyfrost and Squirrelflight in the elder's den." He didn't mention Briarlight; just like the rest of the Clan, he didn't and refused to think of her as an elder.

"Hazeltail has a few good moons left," Ferndust pointed out. "She's only...how old, Skymoon?"

"Old enough," Skymoon answered. Her gaze flitted towards the senior warrior, who was outside the elders' den with her brothers and Poppyfrost, sharing some fresh-kill between them. The reddish tabby she-cat was around the same age as Hazeltail, but her days as a warrior had ended after a blazing branch had fallen on her and broken her hind leg. The fierce cold, lack of proper medicine and stress of losing her youngest son, Flamefur, in the fire had driven her leg to mend badly and confine her to the elders' den.

Berrynose had rarely left her side since she had joined the elders, even requesting to join her in the den (according to her friends; Skymoon hadn't seen the event), though Poppyfrost had turned him down and instructed him to keep serving his Clan as a warrior. But Berrynose himself was one of the oldest cats in ThunderClan, and it wouldn't be long before he too retired.

"Besides," Ferndust went on, "she has to keep serving as a warrior. Graypaw will never let her hear the end of it if she retires during his apprenticeship."

"True," Larkflight conceded.

At the mention of the young apprentice's name, Skymoon felt her mind drift yet again. It had been many long moons since Hollythorn's kits had been made apprentices. Hazeltail had been made a mentor alongside Runningleap and Dewclaw, and her third apprentice was Graypaw, Hollythorn's youngest son. It was common Clan knowledge that the small gray-and-white she-cat hadn't really been expecting to be made a mentor again after Branchpaw, her former apprentice who died only a moon into his training, and when she received Graypaw she was both beyond happiness at a second chance, and scared in case it happened again.

Yet one moon passed, then more, and Graypaw was happy, healthy, and progressing well in his training with his littermates. He and Hazeltail had developed a strong bond between them, and they were so close that some even thought of them as big sister and little brother.

A second rattling of the thorn barrier jolted Skymoon from her memories, and from the thorn tunnel raced a blue-gray bundle of fur, squeaking with excitement. "I passed! I passed!"

Frostpaw's mentor, Amberheart, padded in swiftly after her, looking as drained as if she'd run around the lake. "Great StarClan," she murmured, shaking her head.

Spottedheart, who was standing nearby with Jaggedpaw, glanced up at Amberheart's and Frostpaw's arrival. A purr rumbled in the dappled she-cat's throat, and she padded forward to her fellow warrior. "Frostpaw wear you down again?" she asked.

Amberheart nodded. "She ran from the abandoned Twoleg nest to the shore to Triumph rock and then back to the hollow, catching prey along the way." She shook her head and let out a soft _mrrow_. "I'll be glad to be rid of her."

"Hey!" Frostpaw protested, squaring her paws indignantly in front of her mentor.

"She doesn't mean it," Jaggedpaw soothed, butting his broad head against his sister's shoulder. His eyes sparkled with just as much excitement as Frostpaw's. "It's great you passed! I did, too!"

"Well, of course you would've," Frostpaw sniffed. "You've always been a good hunter."

"Thanks," Jaggedpaw purred. "But you're very good at tracking. You could track a mouse from one side of the forest to the other."

"She has skills to rival Cloudtail's and Sandstorm's," Dovewing agreed, padding over and sweeping an affectionate gaze over the two apprentices. Skymoon remembered that both she and her mother had known Frostpaw and Jaggedpaw since they had been born, as they had shared the nursery together for two moons before duties called them away. "But Jaggedpaw has a pounce to rival any ThunderClan hunter."

_Aura!_ Skymoon was on her paws in an instant._ I completely forgot!_

"Heading off again?" Larkflight asked, rising to his feet.

"I need to see Aura," Skymoon explained. At the immediate countenance that flashed in her friends' eyes, she added quickly, "It's not anything to do with me. I just think I've found something that she needs to know about."

Larkflight twitched his eartip, looking a little disgruntled. Ferndust supplied, "She's near the nursery, keeping Thrushsong company."

_She is?_ Skymoon glanced across the clearing towards the nursery. What was left of the roots of the rotted beech, which had fallen generations ago into the ThunderClan camp, curled around the brambles that formed the nursery. Thrushsong, daughter of Lionstar and sister to Spottedheart, lay just outside it, watching her kits play with her eyes half-closed, for once, in quiet contentment. Sure enough, Aura lay beside her, her dappled tortoiseshell-and-white fur sleek and bright in the sunlight.

_How come I didn't see her before?_ Skymoon wondered. Her abilities almost immediately answered her. _Aura has stayed so long with ThunderClan that I've come to see her as another fellow inconspicuous Clanmate, instead of a cat with more wisdom than the stars themselves._ It had almost been a year's length since she, Toadstep, Amberheart, Ferndust—then Fernpaw—and Lionstar—then Lionblaze—had discovered the young traveller at the edges of the northern border of ThunderClan territory in the early days of leaf-fall. She had only been two moons old at the time, but though Aura had grown in body, her mind and her nature had very much remained the same.

_She's always been fascinated by the Clan's kits,_ Skymoon remembered. _She was present at Hollythorn's kitting, informed Jaggedkit and Frostkit of the need of twisted paws during the bear attack and watched over our two youngest Clanmates' growth._ She rose to her paws. _I should have known she'd be by the nursery again. She always is these days._

"I'll catch up with you guys later," she mewed.

"We'll save some fresh-kill for you," Ferndust promised.

"Say hi to the kits for me," Larkflight called, though there was just the subtlest hint of morose in his voice.

Skymoon quietly sighed as she padded away from the fresh-kill pile and towards the nursery. She knew perfectly well of Larkflight's feelings for her—and truthfully, she had feelings for him, too. More than anything, she wanted to spend more time with him, instead of continuously walking away. _But I can't. Duty calls...and not just the duty of a Clan warrior._ She sighed. _The duties of a Tiger of Time seem to come before anything I want..._

She was so lost in her thoughts again that she nearly didn't notice the golden and russet bundles of fur that came streaking towards her from nowhere. Only instinct and insight saved her—she twisted out of the way of their moss-soft paws with tiny pricking claws unsheathed, and turned to watch them stumble to an ungainly halt.

"You nearly got me that time," she mewed lightly to the kits.

Redkit was the first to recover—she pushed herself back to her paws and turned imploring green eyes to the larger gray warrior. "We did!" she mewled with pride, puffing out her chest.

Her younger brother, Sunkit, rolled back onto his feet and flanked his sister. "I'd have scratched you up so bad, you wouldn't have any fur!" he declared.

"Really?" Skymoon twitched an ear dismissively in their direction. "Don't you two have anything better to do?" Even as she turned away, she felt her gaze being pulled to Sunkit. Thrushsong said she had chosen his name to remind her of Flamefur's sun-bright spirit flaring in his son, but for Skymoon it meant something else, something that was nowhere near as bright or as promising as the sun.

_Whenever I look at him, I can only think of SunClan, and whenever I see him, I'm only reminded what I have to do, what I must do...and Aura. How does she feel? She was born in SunClan! Her father is that Clan's very leader! And yet..._Skymoon's gaze flicked from the golden tabby kit to Aura, who was watching the two kits with an expressionless eye. _She still watches over them, protects them. If she can forget SunClan, why can't I?_

She glanced back at Redkit and Sunkit, who had grown distracted by a passing butterfly and were trying to bat at its fluttering wings with their small paws. _They're soon to become apprentices. Sunkit is bright and spirited, playful and...rather foolish at the best of times, but he's far from the meaning of evil. Yet I can't divide the difference. He was named unknowingly after SunClan, just as Clawpaw was unknowingly named after Clawface._ Sudden fear shot through her. _Is the Dark Forest guiding our actions still, moons after their first defeat? Is their evil working their way into our Clan, even without my knowledge?_

She hadn't even realized she'd been walking until she head Thrushsong mew a greeting. "You look tired," the speckled brown tabby added sympathetically. "Are you having bad dreams again?"

Skymoon shook her head. She thought back to the times in her apprenticeship when she'd been plagued by her prophetic dreams, and how many times she'd overslept for training. _I was far from the most reliable apprentice!_ "I tried to keep up with Jaggedpaw on his hunt," she explained. "He's almost as fast as Runningleap!"

Aura gave a small purr, but her pale golden eyes were anxious. "He's always been quick on his paws." She flicked her tailtip to the patch of earth beside her and added, "Here, Skymoon, have a seat."

Skymoon nodded mutely and settled beside the dappled she-cat. The sun was warm on her shoulders, but she couldn't relax. Her mind was still troubled from her brief encounter of Sunkit.

After a few heartbeats had passed, Thrushsong mewed almost a little bashfully, "I'm sorry if they caused you any trouble."

"It's fine. They didn't even touch me."

Thrushsong nodded. "They're so bright and full of energy," she murmured quietly. "Four moons old and causing enough ruckus to tempt a horde of badgers into the camp." She gave a small sigh. "I only wish..." Her voice drifted away.

Aura shot the queen a stern glance. "Don't dwell on the past," she murmured firmly, placing a single paw on Thrushsong's. "It will only bring pain and the memory of loss. Look on the good thing that ThunderClan has been blessed with."

Skymoon nodded silent agreement. The story of Thrushsong's and Flamefur's relationship was still one that the Clan marveled over. _Flamefur loved Thrushsong for moons and moons, but he never had the courage to tell anyone but his own brother. When he thought that Thrushsong liked him back, he was over the moon—but truthfully, Thrushsong only wanted to use him to achieve her own ambition of being a mother. She never wanted the commitment Flamefur was hoping for, never cared for it, but cared for having kits of her own. Then Flamefur died in the fire—and she was overcome with guilt of her actions, so much that she hated herself, hated what she had done, hated that she was pregnant and carrying his kits._

Skymoon curled the tip of her tail over her paws. _Then she named her son Sunkit...and I can hardly look at him without thinking..._

She shook her head slowly, clearing the troubling thoughts from her mind. _Now is not the time._ She glanced pleadingly at Aura, though she guessed the young tortoiseshell already knew. One black ear twitched in silent response.

"They're growing fast," Aura mewed, her voice sedate as ever. Redkit and Sunkit were currently stalking towards Yellownose; the young gray warrior with the curious white nose was padding across the clearing with a piece of fresh-kill in his jaws for his crippled mother. Then Redkit suddenly sprang to her paws and charged across the clearing with Sunkit right behind her. With shrill squeals they leapt onto Yellownose's flanks, digging their small claws into his thick fur and trying to pull him down. Yellownose stiffened, spared a glance at his assaulted flanks, then gave a dramatic groan and slumped onto his side. Redkit and Sunkit squealed in triumph.

"Look at them." Thrushsong gave a small sigh. "Yellownose is such a responsible tom. He should hate me for what I did to his brother. Instead he's always around his kits."

"They are kin," Skymoon mused.

"He sees them in the way that Moleclaw sees Hollythorn's kits as his own," Aura added, her pale golden eyes sweeping the clearing. "Any kit needs a fatherly figure. What better to give them that influence than a littermate who may never have kits of his own one day?"

Thrushsong rested her chin over her outstretched forepaws. Her eyes sparkled with deep affection as she watched her kits tussle with Yellownose's long gray fur. "I hope that Father will give them good mentors," she murmured, half to herself.

"I'm sure he will," Skymoon mewed. She turned to Aura. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but..."

"Of course." Aura was on her paws before Skymoon had even finished speaking. "Come, let us speak in private."

Thrushsong shot them an odd look, but was wise enough not to ask what flashed between them. Skymoon rose to her paws and quickly padded after Aura, who led the way to the small grassy patch behind the warriors' den, the little clearing where, Skymoon recalled, she had first learned of Aura's parentage.

Settling down on the soft green beneath them, Aura began the conversation at once. "You believe you have found a bearer of a Tigermark."

Skymoon nodded. She'd known Aura long enough to overlook her habit of answering unspoken questions. "Jaggedpaw. He..."

"He took you by surprise with his hunting abilities, yes?"

"Yes. He doesn't hunt like a ThunderClan cat. He hunts differently. He doesn't even pause to gather strength in his legs. He can progress straight from a stalk to a pounce." Skymoon slowly shook her head. "I've never seen anything like it in my life. Not even Owlstar could do that." _Great StarClan,_ she thought, _my powers really must be continually growing if I can think back to one of the earliest leaders of ThunderClan__._

Aura gave a small purr. "You believe this gifts him with a Tigermark?"

"Well, why not? I've done what the four founders of the Clans told me to do. I've searched for the other two bearers so we can make a trinity, just like the Three. Kin to the fire, bane of the tiger." Skymoon sighed. That omen really was stuck in her head today. "The only problem is..."

"You're not sure if Jaggedpaw fits with the omen?"

"No." Skymoon blinked at Aura. "That's why I need your help."

Aura tucked her tailtip over her forepaws. "Skymoon, your powers in Time are beginning to exceed my own," she mewed matter-of-factly. "Do you truly need my advice for something my powers lessen on in yours?"

Skymoon looked at the grass beneath her paws. "I'm not as wise in the ways of Time as you. You have the Four in your ears. I have them only in my fur."

Aura gave a small _mrrow_. "You don't need wisdom—just common sense. Think: who is Jaggedpaw the son of?"

"Mapleleaf and Moleclaw."

"Are either kin to Firestar, to Tigerstar?"

Skymoon frowned. "Moleclaw...he is the son of Berrynose and Poppyfrost. Berrynose is the son of a loner. The line ends with him. Poppyfrost is the kit of Brackenfur and Sorreltail. Brackenfur's parents were born before Firestar, and Sorreltail...she's not kin to Firestar, either." She looked back at Aura. "That would mean..."

"...father to son? No, it wouldn't work. Besides," Aura added, "the lines of ancestry and destiny are blurred too much for it to become clear."

"But what if isn't Jaggedpaw? What if it's Frostpaw? Mapleleaf is named after Mapleshade, she was allied with Tigerstar and destroyed Spottedleaf, Firestar's lover..."

"Have you noticed anything particularly unusual about Frostpaw?"

Skymoon hesitated, then shook her head.

"They're not the ones, are they?"

"I'm sorry." Aura rested her paw reassuringly against Skymoon's. "But what I can promise and tell you is that the ones you seek are ThunderClan."

Skymoon blinked wearily at Aura. "Who _are_ they, though? I have no clue."

Aura twitched her tail. "Soon, you will. Very soon."

* * *

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Lionstar's yowl thrummed through the hollow, and as the midday sun burned high overhead, cats flooded out from various dens and gathered in the grassy area before the tall ridge of stone.

"It's starting!" Ferndust jumped to her paws. "Come on, let's find good seats!"

Larkflight rolled his eyes as he pushed himself onto his feet. "Beside my brother, no doubt."

Ferndust flicked an ear. "Which one?"

"Whiteblaze, duh. You've had eyes for him since _he_ became a warrior."

"Have not!" Ferndust cuffed his eartip.

"Have too!" Larkflight jumped onto her.

A set of thudding paws approaching them made both untangle themselves and sit up to meet the irritated eyes of the cat who was padding towards them. "Honestly," said Cherrypelt, twitching her tailtip crossly. "Anyone who looked at the pair of you would think you were a pair of rogue kits!" She glanced sternly from her son to Ferndust. "No offense, of course."

"None taken," Ferndust replied cheerfully, shaking her fur out. "Branchpaw was always worse than I."

"Sorry, Mother," Larkflight added, sweeping his tongue a few times over his knotted shoulder fur.

As they padded to the group of gathered cats, Cherrypelt looked around, seemingly distracted. "Have you seen Skymoon today?"

Larkflight nodded, but couldn't resist a tail flick in frustration. "She drifts around like a cloud. Has done since she became a warrior," he muttered.

Ferndust pressed against him. "Skymoon's always had her head in the clouds. Why else would she be named after the blue above our heads, and be the daughter of two warriors named from flying things?"

Larkflight considered her words, then gave a small amused purr. "True, that." He looked more seriously at his mother. "Why do you worry for her so much, though? She's not your kit."

"I know." Cherrypelt's eyes misted with memory as she sat down. "But I knew her from the moment that she was kitted. I helped Dovewing look after her, feed her solid fresh-kill and keep the den warm for that poor mite."

"That's right...Skymoon was born in the leaf-bare, wasn't she?"

"When you and your littermates were busy causing mischief, already three moons old," Cherrypelt added, frowning at her son. "Then I was her mentor, of course. Never up on time, but always one of the most hardworking and dedicated cats to her training I'd ever seen."

"But you and Skymoon hardly ever spend time together anymore," Ferndust mewed.

"I know." Cherrypelt glanced at Larkflight again and brushed the tip of her tail against his mottled flanks. "Then again, I don't spend as much time with my kits, either."

"There she is." Ferndust spotted a dusky-gray pelt beside a tortoiseshell-and-white. "She's near the front with Aura."

Cherrypelt snorted. "She's always with her these days."

"Shh!" Patchwhisker, sitting near the three, twisted around and hissed through his whiskers. "Father's about to begin."

"Cats of ThunderClan!" Lionstar called. In the sunshine spilling into the hollow, it made his bright golden tabby pelt gleam like fire. "Today we are gathered to perform one of my favourite ceremonies—the naming of new warriors."

The Clan tittered with excitement, and all eyes turned to the two young cats who sat in the centre of the crowd, their pelts groomed to sleek perfection. Their father, Moleclaw, sat next to Hollythorn with a proud purr rumbling in his throat.

"They look very nice, don't they?" Ferndust murmured.

Larkflight gave her a playful nudge. "Got your eyes on Jaggedpaw now, have you?"

"Oh, do shut up," Ferndust retorted lightly. "You had _your_ eyes on Skymoon when she was still a 'paw!"

"Oh, _do_ shut up," Patchwhisker mewed, glaring at the pair of them. "I'm trying to listen!"

"These apprentices," Lionstar went on, oblivious to the murmuring at the back of the crowd, "have trained hard for many moons. They have endured many trials that challenge seasoned warriors...not to mention have experienced an adventurous kithood." His eyes twinkled as he gazed upon the apprentices—the words seemed to have the ring of an old phrase.

The Clan purred. The story of two kits bringing a tide of rocks to crush a terrible monster was still a favourite, especially with the elders.

"Mentors," Lionstar mewed, turning to them. "Do you believe your apprentices are prepared to accept and uphold the responsibilities expected of a warrior?"

"Absolutely," Spottedheart meowed full-heartedly. "ThunderClan will be lucky to have a warrior with Jaggedpaw's determination."

"And Frostpaw's ceaseless energy," Amberheart added, a little ruefully. Amused rumbles went throughout the Clan.

Lionstar nodded, turned his gaze to the sky and recited the old words that Clan leaders had used for countless generations. "I, Lionstar, leader of ThunderClan, ask my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard in the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." Then he turned to the two apprentices and asked the same question he asked every apprentice becoming a warrior: "Frostpaw, Jaggedpaw, do you promise to uphold and defend the warrior code and your Clan, even with your life?"

"I do," Frostpaw declared.

"I do," Jaggedpaw added more quietly, more somberly.

Lionstar bounded down from Highledge and came to a halt before the two apprentices. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names." His amber eyes twinkled. "Frostpaw, come forward."

The blue-gray apprentice delicately padded up to her leader. She had grown to be tall, long-legged and slender as a twig, though her eyes always seemed to burn with a bright fire. Her pelt shone and sparkled almost exactly like a shard of ice.

"Frostpaw, from now on you will be known as Frostshine." The new warrior's eyes shimmered with approval. "StarClan honours your energy and dedication—" Somewhere nearby Amberheart gave a small snort. "—and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Lionstar rested his chin on Frostshine's forehead, and she licked his shoulder in return and stepped back. Then he meowed, "Jaggedpaw, step forward."

Jaggedpaw did so. The Clan's interest seemed to immediately sharpen. Ever since he had been born, there had been doubts of Jaggedpaw's future, but now they understood—Spottedheart better than anyone—that what he lacked in fighting skills he made up for in hunting. Briarlight, from beside Poppyfrost and Squirrelflight, was watching him more closely than any other cat in the clearing.

Lionstar looked thoughtfully at the apprentice for a moment, before he declared, "Jaggedpaw, from this moment, you will be known as Jaggedflight. StarClan—"

"Wait."

The Clan recoiled in surprise. Had the young warrior really interrupted his leader?

He had. "I don't want that name."

Lionstar looked perplexed. "I...I don't understand."

"I don't want to be called Jaggedflight." The nameless tom sat down and curled his tail firmly over his twisted forepaws. "It is not who I want to be called until I ascend to StarClan."

"If you want to be named something else, you should have told him before," Squirrelflight rasped.

Briarlight tilted her head. "If not Jaggedflight, then what?" she mewed curiously.

The black-and-white warrior raised his chin. "I want to be called Jaggedstep."

The Clan gasped. "Did he really just say that?" Ferndust whispered in amazement. "He wants to be named after his paws?"

"He's loony," Larkflight murmured, equally stunned.

But none were more surprised than Lionstar. "But that name is cruel," the ThunderClan leader said, baffled and uneasy. "It'll draw attention to your feet more than ever."

"My twisted paws are nothing to be ashamed of." The nameless warrior glared heatedly at his Clanmates. "And StarClan forbid anyone who gives me pity because of them. I'm not ashamed of who I am—I am _proud_ of my feet. You should all have understood that long ago."

"He's right," Moleclaw meowed, jumping to his paws. "Jaggedpaw has never complained, not once, about his forepaws. We should be honoured he has chosen to call himself Jaggedstep."

"It is a sign of acceptance if nothing else," Briarlight added, pride in her mew. "And a sign of courage, more courage than we would ever have."

"But a name like Jaggedstep would be as cruel as Lostface," Dewclaw meowed, blinking in surprise. "My mother was named that after the dog attack marred her."

"I've heard of that story," said the nameless warrior, sparing a nod at Dewclaw. "But there is a difference. Brightheart did not choose that name for herself. I have chosen the name Jaggedstep, and be it beneath the eyes of my ancestors, I will go to StarClan as Jaggedstep or I will go to StarClan nameless."

Lionstar dipped his head once. "You will not go to StarClan nameless, Jaggedpaw. Very well; so be it. Beneath the eyes of StarClan, you will be Jaggedstep." He padded forward and rested his muzzle upon Jaggedstep's broad forehead. "StarClan honours you and your courage and nobility, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Satisfied, Jaggedstep rasped his tongue over Lionstar's shoulder, accepting his new name. Then he stepped back, pausing at his sister's side. Both young warriors lifted their heads and listened with joyous contentment as the Clan yowled their new names.

"Frostshine! Jaggedstep! Frostshine! Jaggedstep!"

* * *

**A/N: Who does NOT luv those two? Tell me your thoughts, as always, lovely readers!**

**Next time, chapter three: Birds of a Thorn. We enter a new point of view, and one who I think followers of Daughter of the Sun will recognize...**


	3. Birds of a Thorn

**A/N: Here we are again, on time for once! In this chapter we finally enter the point of view of a character who many of you will know and love...**

* * *

Chapter Three

BIRDS OF A THORN

* * *

"Owlpaw! _Owlpaw!_"

The peace of the medicine den was shattered as a small russet she-kit exploded in, green eyes round and terrified. She was so caught up in her panic that she nearly bowled over Jayfeather, about to leave the den with more mallow to dry.

"Owlpaw!" she cried a third time, sliding to a halt.

Owlpaw quickly padded out from the medicine store. _Oh, no..._She hurried to Redkit's side and nosed the kit quickly, but to her surprise Redkit stepped back and shook her concerned nosing off.

"It's not _me_ who's hurt!" Redkit mewled impatiently.

Owlpaw frowned. _Sunkit?_ she guessed. _I should have known..._

She glanced quickly at Jayfeather, who was spitting in frustration as he carefully gathered the dropped mallow back together. "Oops," Redkit mewed, finally noticing her mistake. "Sorry..."

"Get out of here," Jayfeather rasped irritably. He jerked his chin at Owlpaw. "You too, since Redkit clearly wants _you_ and not _me._"

Owlpaw blinked apologetically, then turned pointedly to Redkit. "Sunkit was chasing a bee," the russet-coloured kit began breathlessly, "but he pounced too suddenly and at the wrong moment—the bee stung his nose and now it's so swollen he can hardly see, and he's in big pain!"

_Beesting._ Owlpaw stiffened, running through all her knowledge of the medicine den that she'd learned within the few moons of training she'd had. _What to use for a sting? Dock to reduce swelling? Is that right? No, not for stings..._

She straightened as it came to her. _Blackberry leaves—blackberry leaves! _She twisted back into the store to get some.

"Use a bit of dandelion, too!" she heard her mentor call behind her. "Dandelion helps mend beestings much better than blackberry leaves!"

_Of course..._Owlpaw sighed to herself. There were so many herbs to remember...still, she found the blackberry leaves quick enough, and the yellow-flowered head of the dandelion soon after. Herbs carefully clenched between her teeth, she hurried out of the medicine den, nearly knocking Jayfeather over herself in her haste to get outside, Redkit leading the way.

Several other cats had noticed the situation and were helping Thrushsong, his mother, calm him down. Owlpaw's heart wrenched when she saw the little kit lying on his back, bawling, and Thrushsong gently licking his fur and soothing him. She looked up at her approach.

"Thank goodness," she breathed, then stepped back. "Hurry!"

Owlpaw blinked her thanks and shouldered her way past two ThunderClan warriors. She stopped when she saw Sunkit. The poor golden tom's nose was as swollen as Redkit had said, and the bee's sting, she noted, was still stuck fast in his soft little nose.

_They never thought to remove it?_ Owlpaw would've sighed if she could, then set the herbs down and swiftly assessed her patient. Sunkit's fur was hot, and not just from the sun; sticky tears seeped from between his eyes and over his swollen nose, the salt only aggravating the injury further.

_He needs thyme and a poppy seed..._They were the first two herbs she had ever been taught, and Owlpaw knew them and their properties like she knew her pelt. Not for the first time, she felt a hot rush of frustration singe her fur at her inability of vocal speech.

Suddenly she spotted a familiar tabby pelt among the anxious crowd. _Clawpaw!_ she cried, knowing he would hear her no matter how noisy it was. His pale blue eyes flicked towards her, round with anxiety.

_Thyme_, Owlpaw urged her brother. _Get some thyme and a poppy seed. Jayfeather will help._

Clawpaw blinked in surprise. "But I'm not a medicine cat," he protested. "How would I—? Why didn't you—?"

Owlpaw flicked her tail impatiently._ Shut up and get me the herbs, now!_ Clawpaw, sensing her fast-rising anger, was sprinting across the clearing before another heartbeat had passed.

Relieved that medicine for shock was on its way, Owlpaw set her mind on her task. She quickly approached Sunkit and held the little tom down with her broad paws. Then, taking careful aim, she grasped the bitter beesting and pulled it from his nose. Sunkit gave another whimper of pain.

Owlpaw spat it onto the grass. _Why did nobody think of removing the beesting?_ she asked herself irritably, sweeping the blackberry leaves towards her. _Honestly, you'd think _some_ Clanmates had sense..._

"It's all right, it's all right..." Thrushsong gently nuzzled her son with motherly tenderness, offering the comfort that Owlpaw could not. "Look, Owlpaw's making some nice medicine, it'll make you feel better as quick as that!"

_I hope so..._Owlpaw kept her mind clear and focused on her task, refusing to break down to the tension that fizzed all around her. Soon the blackberry leaves were ready to be applied to Sunkit's muzzle. She'd practiced applying poultices quite a few times, from minor cuts and scratches the general apprentice and warrior picked up patrolling to the serious gashes and wounds they received in combat—mostly from WindClan claws. _If I can deal with serious injuries inflicted purposefully by Clan warriors, I can deal with a beesting on a kit's nose._

She crushed the dandelion between her teeth and trickled the milky juice over the sting. Sunkit gave a squeak of pain, but after a moment it became a small sigh of comfort as the juice soothed the boiling ache a beesting brought.

Clawpaw returned just at that moment, a few leaves of thyme in his mouth and a poppy seed on the underside of his paw. Owlpaw blinked her gratitude as she took the herbs from him. She turned to Sunkit and gently rolled him onto his back, then encouraged him to open his mouth by tickling his swollen nose with the tips of her whiskers. As he did, she dropped the poppy seed onto his tongue. It was not until he'd closed his mouth that Owlpaw wondered if she should have given him the thyme first.

"Will he be all right?" someone nearby asked anxiously—Stormbreeze, by the sound of it.

"'Course he will," another—Stormbreeze's brother, Whiteblaze—assured her. "Sunkit's a tough little bundle of fur. He'll be right as rain."

"Will he?" Thrushsong demanded, urgently looking into Owlpaw's eyes.

Owlpaw immediately turned to her brother. _He'll be fine,_ she said. _Tell her._

"Owlpaw says Sunkit will make a complete recovery," Clawpaw meowed.

Thrushsong's shoulders sagged with relief, but Owlpaw stifled a whisker-twitch of annoyance. _I didn't say that...he probably will, but...ugh, I wish Ravenpaw was here._ _I think I'll look after him in the medicine den for a while in the medicine den, until he recovers from his shock._

She gently grasped Sunkit's scruff, almost immediately to be challenged by his mother. "What are you doing?" she asked quickly. "Where are you taking him?"

Owlpaw, a little awkwardly, flicked her tail in the direction of the medicine den.

"He needs internal treatment?" Thrushsong was on her paws at once, fur bristling in agitation. "It's that bad?"

_No,_ Owlpaw wanted to tell her, _just a precaution, in case he worsens or the medicine doesn't respond as it should..._Unfortunately, however, she couldn't. She had to trust that her brother could convince her patient's mother that the situation wasn't as bad as Thrushsong believed. Rather ruefully, she wished Jayfeather was here, just for the reassurance part of it. _He may be blind, but at least he can talk!_

"That's enough, sister." Like a blessing from StarClan, Spottedheart suddenly appeared and wove around Thrushsong, her clear eyes gentle. "Owlpaw knows what she's doing. She probably just needs to watch over him for a little while, until the medicine starts kicking in."

Leaving Spottedheart to comfort her littermate, Owlpaw was free to carry Sunkit across the clearing to the medicine den. Redkit started to follow, hesitated at the beginning, then turned back to comfort her mother.

Clawpaw accompanied her, carrying the thyme leaves that had not been used. "He _will_ be fine, won't he?" he asked around them.

Owlpaw didn't nod, but she spared him a reassuring glance. As she did, she couldn't help noticing how large and strong her brother was becoming. His dark tabby fur seemed to grow thicker and darker by the day, despite it being greenleaf, and his cool blue eyes appeared deeper than the day before. His muscles were toned and sleek, and they slid beneath his glossy pelt.

_Ravenpaw and Graypaw all look like that, too,_ Owlpaw thought to herself, with a pang of disappointment. _But I won't. Not ever._

It was as though he sensed her thoughts. Purring, Clawpaw set the thyme down at his paws and brushed his fur against Owlpaw's. "Don't worry, little sister," he mewed. "You'll grow to be more attractive than me and the rest of our littermates put together." His eyes twinkled. "Don't tell Ravenpaw I said that, though."

_Ravenpaw..._Owlpaw paused at the entrance to the den and glanced back at her brother. _Where is she?_

"Out," Clawpaw answered unhelpfully. Noticing the irritated spark in Owlpaw's eyes, he hastily added, "I think she's remarking the WindClan border with Blossomfall, Bumblestripe and Patchwhisker."

_Oh._ They must've left this morning—Owlpaw pictured her sister, padding along the stream bordered by trees on both sides, leaving ThunderClan scent marks on every blade of grass. She spared a quick glance at the sky. It was nearly sunhigh—they should be returning soon, or Lionstar would probably start to worry. _Well, she'll be back soon,_ she comforted herself. Waving her tail in farewell to Clawpaw, she stepped into the medicine den with Sunkit. She'd retrieve the thyme once he was settled.

Jayfeather looked up. He was still dusting off the mallow leaves Redkit had upset from earlier. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Sunkit. "You think he needs internal treatment?" he asked aloud.

Owlpaw didn't answer at once. She carried him straight to one of the premade moss nests and gently rested him in one. Then she turned around and nodded.

"Beesting that bad?" Jayfeather didn't even expect an answer; he strode past Owlpaw and stood over the kit, gently sniffing him. Owlpaw stood quietly behind him (though she always did; it was hard for her to stand noisily, given her disability) and watched, feeling that same little twinge of awe in her soul when she watched her mentor at work. You'd never know he was blind by the effortless way he did his job.

"It's only inflamed," Jayfeather commented a moment later, straightening. "So long as you applied the dandelion and blackberry leaves, that sting should settle in a few hours—a good move with the poppy seed, by the way," he added, facing Owlpaw directly by this point. "Though you didn't use the thyme. You should've used that before the seed."

Owlpaw ducked her head apologetically.

"Still," Jayfeather went on, "Sunkit is a pretty tough little kit. He'll be fine after a good sleep. Sleep can be a better remedy than thyme for shock." He gave Owlpaw a stern blind stare. "Since you brought Sunkit in for internal treatment, he's your sole responsibility, not mine. I have to collect some horsetail from the shore, so I'll be gone for most of the afternoon." He padded towards the den's exit. "The medicine den's yours for that duration of time as well. You don't have to spend all your time watching Sunkit like an owl—it wasn't what you were named for, after all," he added, not unkindly. "But the mallow leaves need to be laid out in the sun, the dens not in use changed and the marigold sorted. It's been a while since I looked at their potency."

Owlpaw simply nodded, mind whirling as she tried to remember all this given information.

"Good luck," Jayfeather mewed wryly. On silent paws he swept from the den.

Owlpaw stared at the shaking brambles for a moment, listening to her mentor's pawsteps fade until she couldn't hear them anymore. Then she sighed and sat back on her haunches, and for a moment watched Sunkit's flanks rise up and down in time to his steady breathing.

It'd been four moons since she and her littermates had been apprenticed. Well into their training and edging towards their warrior names, Ravenpaw, Graypaw and Clawpaw were rarely in camp but outside, patrolling the forest, hunting for the Clan or training in the trees, ground or branch, and sometimes Owlpaw grew a little lonely and even a bit bored in the medicine den. She loved learning how to heal others, and to be looked at in trust and respect—it was hard for her to earn both given her inability of vocal speech—but sometimes, when Jayfeather was asleep, she'd lie on her back in her nest, stare at the ceiling of the den and wonder if she had not been born mute, what kind of life she might have led.

_Would I still have become a medicine cat? Or would I have followed my siblings in the path of a warrior?_

Owlpaw loved fighting. Sometimes she'd wrestle with her sister when the Clan was settled down to eat at sunset, if Ravenpaw had enough energy. Her mentor, Blossomfall, worked her hard, but the sleek black she-cat was even sleeker and stronger than she had been when she left the nursery. It was common knowledge that though she was just a ten-moon-old apprentice, she was the light in every young tom's eye.

_Except for Larkflight,_ she reminded herself, picturing the mottled brown-and-black tom with the friendly green eyes. _He's all moony over Skymoon._

She pulled herself out of her daydream long enough to get on with what Jayfeather had instructed her to do. She gently collected the mallow leaves in her teeth and carried them outside to dry them. Clan life had pretty much gone back to normal; Thrushsong was playing a tussling game with Redkit, though her eyes continuously darted towards the medicine den, her son clearly not far from her mind; Spottedheart rested nearby, purring loudly as she watched her niece scuffle in the sunshine. Clawpaw was eating a piece of fresh-kill with Dustfoot and Whiteblaze; his mentor, Dewclaw, soon padded over and shared a few words—and a freshly-caught sparrow—with his apprentice.

Cinderheart was grooming herself under Highledge and chatting with her sister, Poppyfrost, lying in the sun with her crippled leg outstretched. Owlpaw couldn't resist a small purr when she saw Jaggedstep with them. She couldn't help but admire the (admittedly handsome) tom who had shared the nursery with her, and who had understood her more than any other cat in the Clan. Well, besides her own littermates, but he understood her better even than her mother.

_He has a disadvantage to the Clan, like me,_ Owlpaw thought. _How did he do it? How did he become a warrior, with twisted forepaws? Yet I overheard Skymoon saying that he was the best hunter in the Clan..._She shook her head in disbelief. _How in StarClan's name is that possible?_

She decided she'd better ask him. _Maybe he has some advice on how I can become the best medicine cat ever, when I can't speak._

She sighed, absently batting at the drying mallow leaves, and cast her mind back to the day, a few before she and her littermates were due to leave the nursery. She'd had a worried talk with her sister. _How can I become a warrior if I can't speak?_ she'd fretted.

Ravenkit—now Raven_paw_—had given her one of those infinitely wise looks from those clear green eyes. She mewed, _If you're worried, go and see Aura. She'll know what to do._

Aura. Owlpaw had heard heaps of nursery stories about that strange she-cat. Aura was truthfully not much older than herself and her littermates—she was the same age as Frostshine and Jaggedstep! Yet Aura had vast knowledge. It was like a StarClan cat had addled with her mind. She was wise beyond her years, so everyone in ThunderClan said. At Gatherings, the other Clans regarded Aura with a mixture of fascination and suspicion.

"Watch out for your rogue-named Clanmate," she remembered Lightbreeze, a fellow medicine cat apprentice, telling her during her first Gathering. "Aura is not natural. Your Clan insists on keeping her and all that knowledge, too, but to hear RiverClan say it, she has...a dark past."

_A dark past._ Owlpaw still mulled over what this 'dark past' could possibly be. She'd asked Aura once about it—the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat had even attended her birthing and slept in the nursery for as long as Jaggedstep and Frostshine, and she seemed nice enough, especially to talk to.

But Aura hadn't said anything. She'd refused to speak of her past, just that she'd journeyed very far when she was very young, from her father who loved only her burden than herself.

She still didn't say anything, and sometimes Owlpaw wondered what all the fuss about Aura was all over, anyway. What did RiverClan know of her? She'd come straight to ThunderClan, not stopped for a fish in the Clan across the lake along the way. And Lightbreeze was of WindClan, who was at war with ThunderClan. Maybe she was just trying to scare her.

_It's hard to think badly of such a quiet, respectful she-cat,_ she added to herself. The mallow had dried by now, and she carried them back inside, pausing along the way to snatch at the thyme still lying at the entrance to the den.

Once tucked into the store, she slipped back into the main den to check on Sunkit. His swelling had gone down and he seemed calmer. Owlpaw gave a soft sigh of relief. _At least I did it right._

She remembered the rest of her mentor's instructions and set about tidying the medicine den. She changed the nests and sorted through the marigold, dead and rotted from potent. As she did her assigned duties, unable to bear silence inside as well as out, Owlpaw let her mind wander, back to her days and nights in the nursery, to the stories her mother, Hollythorn, had told her kits.

_She told us about the greencough epidemic that swept through ThunderClan when we were just very young kits,_ Owlpaw thought. _Father died to it._ She couldn't remember very much of her father, a tom called Snowfoot, except for one small memory of him having a wrestling game with her brothers. _Graypaw and Ravenpaw fell sick to whitecough, which could have turned into greencough...which could have killed them just like it killed Grandfather._ She closed her eyes and shivered nose to tail. She'd heard many stories about her grandfather, Bramblestar, former leader of ThunderClan, and the very son of the infamous Tigerstar.

_Tigerstar. Even that name brings a shiver to me._ Owlpaw dug her claws into the bedding she was currently sorting through. _And I'm kin. I'm direct kin to him—as are my littermates and my mother!_

_And we have kin in another Clan...Tigerheart and Dawnpelt, grandchildren of Tigerstar, half-siblings to my mother and uncle Runningleap! _Her head spun. _And their littermate, Flametail...he was a medicine cat, too. It was who Sunkit's father, Flamefur, was named after._

Medicine cats...Jayfeather was just as legendary as Flametail and Yellowfang, Spottedleaf and Cinderpelt, the medicine cats of old. He was one of the Three, the protectors of the lake when the Dark Forest invaded and tried to conquer the Clans. _I have such a legacy to live up to..._Owlpaw twitched restlessly as she pulled a dead sprig of marigold from a healthy one. _I can only hope I will be as great as my mentor and all the medicine cats who came before him..._

"Fretting again? It's all you do!"

Owlpaw jumped and spun around in surprise. She hadn't heard her sister enter the den—she didn't even hear her return! _That's new..._

She blinked defiantly at her. _I'll be even more fretful when I'm a qualified medicine cat!_

Ravenpaw purred playfully. _Of course you will,_ her eyes seemed to say. They padded into the centre of the den and fondly brushed whiskers with each other. "I heard about Sunkit," Ravenpaw mewed, glancing at the small golden tabby bundle in the nest nearby with a gaze full of sympathy. "Poor little mite. But I also heard that you dealt very well with the crisis," she added, glancing proudly at her sister. "Well done!"

Owlpaw blinked bashfully. _I didn't give him thyme. I gave him a poppy seed first._

Ravenpaw shrugged. "So what? He's sleeping happily now, whatever you did," she said. "And that's good enough for me!" She nodded to the medicine den. "Where's Jayfeather?"

_He went out to get horsetail._ Owlpaw gave a quick stretch, hardly aware that her muscles were stiff and aching from her chores.

"Of course he is," Ravenpaw mewed lightly. "Well, at least we have the den to ourselves! Let's mess it up before he returns."

Owlpaw flicked her sister with the tip of her tail, but she couldn't ignore the warm, happy feeling that flickered within her chest. She was with Ravenpaw at last. She loved spending time with her more than she did her brothers; she couldn't explain it, but she had always felt closer, and not just emotionally, to her eldest littermate. Communicating with Ravenpaw was as easy as if she were really speaking aloud; she understood her so well.

_Clawpaw told me that you had gone to patrol WindClan's borders,_ she noted, leaning back onto her haunches.

Ravenpaw did the same opposite her and wore a weary expression. "Yeah, we did," she replied with a sigh. "My muscles are _aching_—but it's a good ache! We didn't see any WindClan fleabags patrolling today, which meant we could absolutely _drench_ our side of the border in scent. Ha!" she exclaimed. "I bet it smells just as bad to them as their stench does to us!"

Owlpaw gave a small twitch of her whiskers—the only way she could express amusement, besides her eyes—but with little mirth. _It may be greenleaf now, but leaf-bare is not far,_ she reminded her. _It's a bad time to get hurt—that's how Poppyfrost got crippled, remember?_

Ravenpaw blinked a few times with an oh-come-now expression. "Poppyfrost broke her leg and Jayfeather didn't have the proper supplies and all that," she mewed, "but it was more the shock of losing Flamefur that really crippled her, both in and out. It wasn't Jayfeather's fault..."

_You're missing the point,_ Owlpaw pointed out.

"Oh, of course I am." Ravenpaw flicked her tail against Owlpaw's flanks. "I don't go around looking for trouble," she reminded her earnestly. "And it hurts to StarClan to get cut by WindClan claws—but it also makes me angry. And I don't like being angry, especially around my little sister."

Owlpaw's eyes were warm. _And I don't like being fretful, especially around my elder sister._

"You don't like being fretful?" Ravenpaw looked mock-abashed. "Just as Jayfeather doesn't like being a grumpy old furball?"

_Shh!_ Owlpaw, stifling a whisker-twitch, shot a glance at the mouth of the medicine den. _Don't let him hear you say that!_

Ravenpaw smirked. "So you say it, then. He can't speak our language."

Owlpaw rolled her eyes, though inside she fought to conceal the tug of despair. She looked away quickly and focused on making Sunkit's nest even more comfortable than before, weaving bits of fresh moss amidst the old ferns and bracken.

"Do you need any help with anything?" Ravenpaw asked from behind, and a flash of green-eyed, white-dashed black appeared at the corner of Owlpaw's vision. "Or if you're done, we can go for a walk when Sunkit wakes up."

Owlpaw glanced awkwardly at her sister. _What about Jayfeather?_ she questioned shrewdly.

"Oh, to mice with Jayfeather." Ravenpaw gave a small purr. "He won't mind, you're such an efficient apprentice! And I know, because he complains significantly less when you're around."

Owlpaw flicked her tailtip. _Call it a she-cat's charm,_ she smirked. _And all right; a walk does sound nice. _Privately, she added, _The herb dust must be muddling with my senses. A whiff of fresh air will do me good..._

She glanced pointedly at Sunkit. _I'm not leaving a patient, however,_ she said to her sister._ First rule that Jayfeather ever taught me._

Ravenpaw twitched the end of her white-tipped tail. "I thought the first lesson he taught you was not to ask stupid questions."

_That, too._

"Of course he did." Ravenpaw gave a quick stretch. "How is the little mite, anyway?" she asked, settling down beside Sunkit and giving him a quick sniff. "Yuck. He reeks of dandelion and blackberry leaf."

Owlpaw didn't even give her sister a startled glance. Their understanding of each other always felt as though it went much deeper. Sometimes, they could vision where the other one was, only occasionally with a prompt, or share in feeling a particularly powerful emotion that one was currently experiencing. She remembered once telling Aura about it, with Ravenpaw as her communicator, and the tortoiseshell hadn't been surprised in the slightest. She was never surprised, really. She said that once her grandmother, Squirrelflight, shared a similar connection with her sister in the days she and Leafpool were still apprentices.

_One was a medicine cat apprentice, one was a warrior apprentice._ Owlpaw flicked her tailtip. _Funny. It's happened again. Is it because we're kin?_

But it was how they overlooked odd little occurrences such as Ravenpaw's occasional observations of herbs; perhaps her sister's natural feisty spirit encouraged Owlpaw's own. Did medicine cats usually enjoy learning to fight so much?

It wasn't just because Lionstar—the Clan leader himself!—taught her especially on the few days she was permitted to learn battle moves. Jayfeather's disadvantage of being blind had led him to never receive the proper battle training a medicine cat had—his blindness had moved him from the path of a warrior, which he originally had taken as a young apprentice, to the journey of a medicine cat. So it was Lionstar, brother of Owlpaw's mentor, who gave her the necessary battle education she needed if she ever needed to defend herself, and he was the greatest warrior in ThunderClan.

_Yes,_ she said, in answer to Ravenpaw's comment. _Blackberry and dandelion are good for stings._

Ravenpaw shrugged. "Good to know in case I ever am brave or stupid enough to chase bumblebees in my spare time," she remarked. Purring, she swept her tailtip over Sunkit's soft fur. "We were out of the nursery before they even realized we shared the space with them for a few weeks," she commented aloud. "Now look at them; being the only kits in the Clan, they have all of us wrapped around them. Redkit's got old Squirrelflight's personality—they even _look_ the same, minus the bushy tail—and Sunkit's just plain cocky."

Owlpaw recoiled at the last comment. _Cocky?_

Ravenpaw rolled her eyes. "I know _you_ know perfectly well that all the toms within reason gawk at me behind my back," she said. "And Sunkit—four moons old and his eyes go round as moons when he sees me. He'd probably have a heart attack if he realized I was right over him right now."

Owlpaw gave her a shove. _So get away, then. Jayfeather won't be pleased if Sunkit has a heart attack because of my sister._

"Jayfeather is not pleased with _anything_," Ravenpaw replied, with a _mrrow_. "But I get your point. Even so, watch Sunkit carefully. I bet you he's going to be causing an even bigger ruckus come the future, when he's sharing our den." She gave a small sigh. "Though by then, we may just be out of there."

_Not me,_ Owlpaw reminded her, a little sadly. _Medicine cats train longer than warriors._

"And I find that mouse-brained," said her sister. "You're a flawless medicine cat! You're so intelligent and kind and you always know _exactly_ what to do—and you've _never_ lost your head in a crisis." Ravenpaw twitched an ear. "And we survived through greencough epidemics, leaf-bare, a bear attack, a forest fire _and_ living in the abandoned Twolegplace for a moon or two. I'd say we lived a pretty chaotic kithood!"

Owlpaw was about to respond when suddenly Sunkit's steady breathing pattern shifted. She snapped her attention to him. The small golden tom twitched, and his eyes groggily opened, glazed with sleep.

Ravenpaw gave a soft sigh of relief. "Well, he's awake now," she murmured, "and seems no worse than what Clawpaw told me." She chuckled and brushed fondly against Owlpaw's tawny-and-white fur. "I'd better be going before he realizes I'm here. But I'll wait for you outside."

_Sounds good,_ Owlpaw replied, and the brambles rattled again as Ravenpaw slipped out of the medicine den.

Sunkit pushed himself into a sitting position and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. His fur was all the wrong way and his whiskers were askew. Then his eyes crossed and he attempted to stare at his swollen nose. "Whassappening?" he slurred, batting at his nose in puzzlement. "Why can't I feel my nose?"

Owlpaw's whiskers gave a small twitch, and she soothingly whisked her tailtip up and down Sunkit's backbone. "Owlpaw?" he murmured, looking up at her. "What happened? Fuzzy bee hurt..."

Owlpaw's eartips drooped a little. How could she explain? Raising one forepaw, she gently patted her own muzzle.

"Oh...it stung there?" Sunkit mewled. Owlpaw nodded.

"Ouch..." Sunkit scowled. "Stupid bee."

Owlpaw rolled her eyes. _Hence why you don't chase them, mouse-brain._ She quickly examined her patient. The swelling would go down completely in a few hours, but she'd check on him at bedtime, and give him...no, two poppy seeds in one day probably wasn't a good idea. She'd just apply another salve of blackberry leaf and dandelion to his muzzle so it wouldn't irritate him through the night.

_He can go and enjoy the rest of the day, so long as he takes it easy. But I'm sure Thrushsong will be able to look after him for me on that part._ She flicked her tailtip first against Sunkit, and then to the exit of the medicine den, and reinforced the movement with a single nod.

Sunkit seemed to understand. "I...I can?"

Owlpaw nodded. _I just hope he doesn't go back to chasing bees anytime soon..._

"Cool! Thanks, Owlpaw!" Apparently forgetting his poppy-induced drowsiness, he scrambled onto his paws and raced out of the medicine den. As she listened to his pawsteps patter away, Owlpaw solemnly hoped Ravenpaw had chosen a discreet area to place herself.

_Perhaps Jayfeather will return soon...but he won't mind if I go out for a walk. I've done all my chores._ Owlpaw ran through them all one more time in her head. _Beds changed, marigold sorted, Sunkit tended to, mallow dried and thyme put away._ She jumped to her paws and hurried outside after Sunkit, into the bright greenleaf sunlight spilling into the hollow.

She spotted Ravenpaw sitting in the dark green grass beside the thorn barrier. Owlpaw headed quickly towards her. Her ears twitched as she picked up the sounds of Clan life around her. Ivypool, the deputy, was arranging patrols for the afternoon; she picked up the voices of Clawpaw and his mentor among them.

_Afternoon patrols..._Owlpaw paused at Ravenpaw's side. _Are you needed?_

Ravenpaw shook her head. "Blossomfall already knows," she replied. "And she actually agrees with me for once; you need a break."

Owlpaw shrugged. _There's never a break for a medicine cat._ Still, she told herself as she followed Ravenpaw through the mouth of the thorn tunnel, though sometimes she longed for the life of a warrior, she was content—not overly happy, but content—with the path that her paws walked now.

_If it is possible for Jaggedstep to become a warrior—to even be _proud_ of them—then it's possible for a mute to become a medicine cat. Any who still doubt me will be proven wrong._

But the fact she couldn't offer words of comfort—something that all affected desired more than anything else in those situations—haunted her. Sometimes a medicine cat did need to speak. Sometimes speaking was all they could do. But when those times came, Owlpaw could only do nothing. She prayed those times would never come.

* * *

**A/N: So, who really enjoyed looking through Owlpaw's eyes? It's been interesting writing her, given that she isn't permitted to make a single sound. Ever.**

**And if you're interested, I'm starting to post a non-fanfic on FictionPress, about dragons. I'd love it if you could sneak-peek there and show your support with a few words of opinion! The link is on my profile page :)**


	4. The Gathering

**A/N: Hi ho again! Thanks for all the reviews - and enjoy the next chappy! I think you'll like this one. We meet some old ShadowClan buddies...**

* * *

Chapter Four

THE GATHERING

* * *

"I want you to come to the Gathering tonight."

Owlpaw looked up in surprise, but there was no mistake in Jayfeather's eyes.

_Really? _She dropped the pawful of moss she was holding and blinked her astonishment and question at her mentor.

Jayfeather, though he often spoke of being 'powerless', still could recognize thought and emotion nearly as well as Owlpaw's littermates. "I did say that, yes," he rasped, sounding a bit annoyed. "I don't tell lies." His eyes shadowed at some old memory, but they cleared just as quickly. "And I thought you'd have been a bit more excited. This is your second Gathering despite your fourth, nearly fifth moon of training, after all."

Owlpaw nodded. She'd been to her first Gathering before the night of the half-moon—though the medicine cats hadn't gathered at the Moonpool for countless seasons, since the Dark Forest invasion had nearly ripped StarClan's connections to the living world entirely apart, Jayfeather had still taken her to drink from the Moonpool and be initiated formally beneath the eyes of their warrior ancestors.

_And medicine cat ancestors, too._ She pictured all the old famous ThunderClan medicine cats—Leafpool, Cinderpelt, Yellowfang, Featherwhisker, Goosefeather—looking down at her from StarClan. _Did Flametail watch me, too? He is kin to me..._

But she'd missed the other two Gatherings. With WindClan and ThunderClan still at war, Jayfeather didn't want her to go while she was still small and unknowing of how to fight. "It's important to get the general idea of a Gathering, which is why I took you the first time round," he'd said, "but I'm not bringing you again until you know reasonably how to defend yourself."

_I must be able to defend myself reasonably now,_ Owlpaw thought, returning to the present. _Jayfeather's taking me to the Gathering again._ She flicked her tail in delight. _I hope Ravenpaw comes, too. It'll be great to get to know the other Clan cats again! And RiverClan seems friendly enough. And so they should._ She remembered hearing it come from Skymoon's own mouth—how she had gone to aid RiverClan when poison fouled their waters and nearly poisoned them all over again, and then her fight with a real Dark Forest warrior. RiverClan was still in ThunderClan's debt.

_Skymoon herself is a bit...strange._ Owlpaw knew full well that Skymoon had weird powers. She could make her fur change colour, and then everything would slow down around her. _Aura calls it 'manipulating time', _she remembered. _And Skymoon can see into memory, too. And she knows what's going to happen in the future._

"Were you listening to a word I was saying?"

Jayfeather's irritated mew sliced into Owlpaw's thoughts. She jumped and blinked apologetically at her mentor.

He sighed. "Dreaming again, were you? I can remember a certain apprentice who did that a lot, too. But at least _she_ had the courtesy to do it when she was asleep." His tailtip whisked against Owlpaw's flanks, but the flick wasn't unkind. "Stay awake."

Owlpaw nodded and sincerely listened to what her mentor had to say.

"The last two Gatherings have been relatively peaceful," Jayfeather said, "and since it's still greenleaf and everyone's still fat and fed over what their territory has to offer them, they'll still be happy. But ThunderClan is still cautious towards ShadowClan and at war with WindClan."

Owlpaw frowned. _I thought medicine cats didn't take part in a warriors' dispute._

Jayfeather snorted. "If not you, it affects me and Lionstar. We're half-WindClan."

Owlpaw's eyes widened in amazement. _What? Really?_

Jayfeather gave a small sigh. "You've never been told the story, have you?" He sat down and wrapped his tail over his paws. "I can understand. My brother and I aren't exactly _proud_ of being the sons of a WindClan warrior."

Owlpaw silently sat in front of her mentor—and by silently, she meant that even her thoughts had subsided. She was still reeling from the shock.

"My brother and I, and our sister Hollyleaf, we are the kits of an old WindClan warrior—he's in StarClan now—named Crowfeather," Jayfeather meowed, and for once there wasn't a trace of surliness in his mew. Owlpaw could hear only weariness. "But our birth wasn't just forbidden on one degree. It broke two codes, of warriors and of medicine cats. My mother is Leafpool."

Owlpaw gaped. _A WindClan warrior _and_ a medicine cat?!_

"The matter is old," Jayfeather went on, sounding even wearier than before, "and the other Clans have come to understand that we are half-Clan. I suppose saving the lake helped," he added dryly, "but in times of strife old grudges are brought back to life just like the Dark Forest warriors. We're at war with WindClan—and the other Clans see it all as amusing irony. ThunderClan's leader is a half-WindClan tom, as is his medicine cat."

Owlpaw shivered. _My littermates and I are not the only cats who have kin in another Clan. My very mentor does, too!_

"You've met Lightbreeze, I'm sure," Jayfeather mewed. Owlpaw nodded obediently. "She's a qualified WindClan medicine cat apprentice whose sister...well, her sister is a she-cat named Chasefire, and I'm sure you've heard of the duel that occurred between that WindClan warrior and a certain ThunderClan warrior."

Owlpaw nodded. Sometimes, if Skymoon was lying in a certain position (and Larkflight wasn't all over her), one could see the series of knotted streaks of scar tissue on her belly. They had been made by WindClan claws.

"I'm not telling you to be hostile to her," Jayfeather went on, blind blue eyes narrowed, "but...be careful what you say around the medicine cats. I mean," he added quickly, realizing his mistake too late.

Owlpaw flicked her ears and shook her head. _It's fine, it's fine. Mistake happens all the time._ Still, she dug her claws into the dirt underneath her.

Jayfeather's expression softened a little. He looked genuinely apologetic. After a moment he mewed, "I know how you feel."

Owlpaw shrugged.

"No, really," he went on. "I was born blind, just as you were born mute. Lots of cats doubted my ability as well. They said I couldn't become a warrior, and it was all I ever dreamed of in my youth." He tucked his tail a little tighter around his paws. "And it seemed like everything would be okay, at first. I had a warrior mentor—though I still haven't forgiven Firestar for his lack of tact that day—and my sister was apprenticed to Leafpool.

"I was so determined to prove myself, but it was always against me. I could serve my Clan much better if I focused on my strengths, not my weaknesses—I was born with a natural memory of plants and herbs and a powerful connection to StarClan. It took a StarClan cat—Spottedleaf, in particular—and a sneaky trip to the Moonpool for me to realize that it wasn't my destiny to become a warrior. A fight against a ShadowClan apprentice—called Owlpaw, incidentally—told me all my stubbornness refused to say."

Owlpaw pricked her ears. _Spottedleaf...you knew her?_

Jayfeather sensed her surprise at the name and nodded. "She saved my life when I was being chased by fox cubs. I fell into the hollow. I'm sure your mother's delighted in telling you _that_ nursery story. I would've died if not for Spottedleaf Healing me. It seemed to be another sign; Spottedleaf was always watching out for me. She always has watched out for ThunderClan."

Owlpaw frowned. _But Spottedleaf got destroyed by Mapleshade in the Dark Forest invasion...where is she now? Does she still live somewhere or is that it? Is her story over?_

"I guess what I'm trying to say..." Jayfeather absently batted at a stray piece of moss near his paw. "I know how it feels to have your ability tested by your own Clanmates. But it makes us all the stronger, you know."

Owlpaw lifted her chin. _You think so?_ She scowled and looked down just as quickly as she'd looked up. _He wouldn't understand. He may be blind but he can still talk to his patients. He can still give them words of comfort._

Jayfeather suddenly gave a rusty, and very sarcastic, _mrrow_. "Oh, you think that being blind is better than being mute? Oh, I can talk, but when I talk it's really to tell cats to stop doubting me. Why do you think I'm so grumpy? It means that I have to rely solely on my senses of listening, touch and smell—when I'm in an unfamiliar environment I'm as lost as a kit. You, fortunately, will never have to experience such a thing. It means that I can't get to a situation as quickly as others can. It was almost how my brothers died, when they fell into an old badger set as apprentices. I nearly didn't get there in time to save them."

Owlpaw pricked her ears. _Brothers?_

Jayfeather again recognized the puzzled gleam in her eye. His eartip twitched. "Ah, yes. A long time ago, when the Clans were angry at each other in the start of newleaf, we had a day Gathering when Clan apprentices were pitted against each other to show off their skills and abilities to one another. My...half-brother, Breezepelt, son of Crowfeather and a WindClan she-cat named Nightcloud, was around the same age as my littermates and I. He and Lionpaw were chasing a squirrel. They fell into a badger set. I had a vision of them drowning in earth just before."

_Breezepelt..._Owlpaw had heard that name before. _He's a Dark Forest warrior, a traitor and exile of WindClan. He's my mentor's half-brother? The Clan leader's half-brother, too? How strange..._

"Don't think for a moment that Breezepelt had any kinship to us," Jayfeather growled. He nosed a tuft of fur on his shoulder aside, revealing a long scar. "This is from him," he said. "He and another Dark Forest warrior were about to kill Poppyfrost and her unborn kits. I was the only thing who stood against them—until Poppyfrost's dead sister, Honeyfern, came to help me. Which is another thing my blindness deprives me of; my ability to defend with tooth and claw."

A curious gleam lit his blue eyes. "I've seen you fight—I saw with my ears and nose and my sense of touch—with Lionstar. You have natural warrior strengths, but you also have a head for herbs. You'll be perhaps one of our most adept medicine cats in ThunderClan in a long time."

Owlpaw ducked her head bashfully for a moment, then lifted it again. _Breezepelt,_ she thought. _Half-brother to ThunderClan's leader and medicine cat. Exile of the lake..._

A soft rasp echoed nearby and Owlpaw jerked her senses towards her mentor. "Don't think for a moment that Breezepelt's gone for good," Jayfeather rasped. "We know he's out there, waiting for his chance of revenge."

_We?_ Owlpaw briefly wondered. Then Jayfeather's attention had flitted back to the moss that lay forgotten around them. "That's enough stories for one afternoon," said the medicine cat. "If you want to go to the Gathering tonight, I suggest that you finish sorting that moss, then get yourself tidied up. I'm not letting the other Clans see you like some scruffy rogue's kit."

* * *

Though Owlpaw had only walked the path to the Island once before, she remembered most of the way.

They broke from the trees and padded along the shore. They had to pass by WindClan territory on their way to the Island, so the apprentices usually walked lakeside with the warriors moorside. Lionstar led the way, his bright golden tabby fur washed silvery by the moonlight. Jayfeather padded beside him, speaking quietly, while Ivypool trailed a little way behind, sharing words with her sister.

Owlpaw preferred to walk with the other apprentices, now solely made up of her littermates. Graypaw and Clawpaw, being boisterous toms, couldn't resist the odd scuffle (while impressively keeping up with the Clan), while Ravenpaw padded just ahead. Owlpaw kept pace with her.

The pair were playing a game that they had developed and done when they were kits. They'd angle their senses and try to figure out the keys of conversations that flooded around them. Owlpaw's silence had led to an increased sensitivity in hearing; since she was a kit she could 'hone' her senses on one particular conversation and make it stand out amidst the flood of noise around them. Through their connection, she'd let Ravenpaw hear it too, and her sister would decipher them.

Owlpaw let her senses flit through all her Clanmates who were with them tonight. They fell on Ferndust and Larkflight, two young warriors who were walking with Larkflight's brother, Dustfoot, and discussing something to do with WindClan.

"...last attack went sour for us, but it probably curdled even more for them," Dustfoot mewed.

Larkflight shrugged. "I'm not surprised if they're starting to lose their touch against us—after what they saw Skymoon do to them."

"She gave them a scare," Ferndust mewed, "but scared cats do rash things. The war seems like it's never going to end."

"War, really?" Ravenpaw sighed on the edges of Owlpaw's hearing. "On the night of the truce? Young warriors really are derived of conversation topics. Try someone else."

Owlpaw honed her hearing to the two new warriors, Frostshine and Jaggedstep, who padded just behind their old mentors Amberheart and Spottedheart, speaking about something in hushed voices.

"...but I don't know what to say!" The speaker was Jaggedstep. "What do I do? What should I say?"

"Just tell her how you feel and leave it at that," said his ever-practical sister.

"But I can't." Jaggedstep's tail whisked in frustration. "Dustfoot and Whiteblaze like her, too."

"Please, they're too old for her. You're not. So go on, tell her, straight after the Gathering."

"I _can't guess_ who they're talking about," said Ravenpaw sarcastically. "Try someone else. You don't need me for _that_ topic."

So Owlpaw honed in on a conversation between a few senior warriors near the front. To her relief, it was one that actually interested both her and her sister.

"...Father just _has_ to choose me to mentor one of Thrushsong's kits. He knows I'm more than ready for mentor one of them!"

"Patchwhisker, the choice of mentorship doesn't fall to you—being the son of the Clan leader doesn't give you special privileges," said Moleclaw, who padded beside him with two other toms.

Patchwhisker bristled. "I wasn't saying I had any," he spat. "But I'd like to share my skills with the younger generation. Runningleap isn't much older than I am and Father thinks he's more than ready to have an apprentice of his own! Compared to me! His own son!"

"Runningleap has more patience than you," Moleclaw countered, "and he's never thrown furballs at the fact he's never had an apprentice. I haven't mentored an apprentice yet either, and I'm not making a fuss. I had kits to look after and my mate's memory to honour—plus, my own kits are warriors now."

Owlpaw felt the warm feeling return and settle in her chest. She loved Moleclaw; he was the father to her that she and her littermates never really had with Snowfoot. After the greencough epidemic, when Father's body buried, he and Mother had connected and promised to look after all six kits between them—Frostshine and Jaggedstep, then kits, had been left motherless. Even when his own kits moved out of the nursery and into the apprentices' den, he kept coming back with curiosities he'd found in the forest, he'd wrestle with them and tell them stories and do everything fatherly. _Even now, I feel I can approach him as easily as I would my mother._

"And Hollythorn's litter have been apprentices for moons," said Patchwhisker. "Don't you want to do something _useful_ to the Clan?"

"Useful?" Moleclaw chuckled. "Why, I'm being useful by providing my Clan with food and defending our territory from WindClan, and any other who presses up against our borders wanting our rightful land. If that isn't being useful to my Clan, then I don't know what is!"

"But if you did get an apprentice," said Runningleap, padding on light paws beside them, "who would you rather receive? Redkit or Sunkit?"

"That's difficult," said Yellownose thoughtfully. "Remember Flamefur when he and I were apprentices? You can so clearly see his spirit in the pair of them. Redkit's a perfect imitation of her distant grand-aunty or something, Squirrelflight, save for the bushy tail; but she knows how to keep her brother in line. And she's a fast learner, and a good speaker. She'd make a good Clan leader one day."

"And Sunkit?" asked Patchwhisker.

"He's a tumbling ball of yellow tabby fur, full of energy, and anything that's new makes him want to learn more about it," Yellownose answered. "His claws are sharper than Lionstar's—speaking of which, he's a splitting image of his grandfather—and he has natural warrior instincts."

"Hmm..." Patchwhisker furrowed his brow. "So you're saying that Redkit's the thinker, and Sunkit's the fighter?"

Runningleap purred and gave Patchwhisker a friendly shove. "Clearly you're more suited for Sunkit, eh?"

"Are you accusing me of not being the thinker?" Patchwhisker inquired.

Runningleap's whiskers twitched. "What do _you_ think?"

"Redkit and Sunkit..." Ravenpaw gave a small sigh. "In a couple of moons they'll be coming with us to the Island. Hard to believe they grow up so fast..."

Owlpaw's whiskers twitched. _We did. We couldn't wait to get out of our numerous dens and become apprentices._

Ravenpaw's eyes grew thoughtful. "Yes, how many dens did we have in the end? One in the old nursery with the beech root walls, one in Highledge during greencough, one in the abandoned Twoleg nest and then one more in the new nursery! I don't think any other kit in the history of the Clans has had as much experience beyond their camp as us!"

"I'm sorry to correct you on that matter." Pebbles rattled and crunched and suddenly Aura was walking beside them, pale golden eyes thoughtful.

"Hi, Aura!" Ravenpaw purred.

"Greetings, young Ravenpaw, Owlpaw," Aura mewed politely. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation about your adventurous kithood."

Owlpaw's ears pricked. A story!

"There have been kits in the past who have experienced much during their kithood," Aura mewed. "Such as Crookedstar—when he was just a kit, he ran away from RiverClan. He lived for a whole moon away from his Clan, feeding on mice in the same barn where, Ravenpaw, your namesake and a loner named Barley lived—though neither had come to live there then."

Ravenpaw's eyes cleared. "I've heard about the first Ravenpaw. Mother likes talking about him. Firestar had a good relationship with him."

"They were apprentices together," Aura said. "You look just like him, you know."

"But Crookedstar..." Ravenpaw's expression was puzzled. "Wasn't he of RiverClan? He was RiverClan's leader before Leopardstar, wasn't he?"

Aura consented with a single nod. "Then there was young Gorsepaw of old WindClan," she mused. "When he was a very small kit, WindClan was driven away from their home by infamous Brokenstar and ShadowClan. Gorsepaw survived at his mother's side in the open wilderness, dangerously close to Twolegs." Ravenpaw gasped and Owlpaw's eyes widened. "Firestar and Graystripe brought them home. Firestar even carried young Gorsekit, and he nurtured a strong bond with him and another WindClan cat, who later became Onestar."

"Onestar and Firestar were friends?" Ravenpaw wondered.

"Their friendship died when Onestar became leader," Aura explained quietly. Her eyes seemed sad for a moment. "Brackenfur of ThunderClan—he hunts well in StarClan—he and his littermates were kidnapped by ShadowClan when Firestar was just an apprentice. Held hostage, they were rescued by ShadowClan elders and a ThunderClan patrol led by Whitestorm."

"Wow," Ravenpaw breathed. Owlpaw thought the same.

Aura paused, her eyes misting with memory. "Then there was me," she mused.

_Of course,_ Owlpaw realized. _Didn't Aura journey from her Clan of birth when she was just a moon old?_

"Tell us that story from the beginning!" Ravenpaw gasped. The end of her white-tipped tail flicked excitedly. "Please?"

Aura hesitated, then shook her head. She looked unhappy, more so than Owlpaw had ever seen her. "I'm sorry," she murmured, keeping her eyes trained upon the ground beneath her. "But I...I don't wish to speak of this. Not now, not ever. The sun path is my journey, my story alone." She quickened her pawsteps until she was far ahead. Owlpaw could only stare after her.

* * *

"Stay close to me," Ravenpaw whispered as ThunderClan shouldered their way through the ferns and into the Island.

Owlpaw nodded. They stepped into the clearing; already it was full of cats, and she flattened her ears as a powerful blast of sound assaulted her sensitive ears. Scents scorched her nose and she gagged. There was so much...she'd forgotten the crowd and cluster of a Gathering.

_It's been a long time._ Owlpaw lashed her tail. She'd missed so much!

She felt her sister's whiskers brush against her cheek, and she turned to see Ravenpaw slipping eagerly into the crowd. She hastened to follow, slipping quietly between reeking pelts and strong, lean limbs.

_Where are we going?_ she called after her.

Ravenpaw paused and glanced back. "I met some really nice ShadowClan cats the last Gathering," she said. "They're seriously not like any cats of ShadowClan that we know."

Owlpaw frowned. _Well, how many do we know?_

"Come on! I can see them!" Ravenpaw was heading towards a pair of she-cats, one black as night, the other gray and speckled. Already they had noticed Ravenpaw's approach and were rising to their paws with their tails high.

_Well, that's a good sign, at least._ Still nervous at the thought of speaking to a ShadowClan cat—she'd heard loads of stories about them from Hollythorn—Owlpaw hurried after her littermate.

Almost as soon as she flanked Ravenpaw, the black ShadowClan she-cat turned towards her. She was very tall and slender, with long legs and small, neat paws. Her pale blue eyes sparkled with warmth. "Is this your sister we've heard so much about?" she asked.

_She sounds nice,_ Owlpaw thought.

"Yes," Ravenpaw said. "Owlpaw, this is Nightwing, and her sister, Cedarfall. They've only just become warriors of ShadowClan. Nightwing, Cedarfall, this is my sister, Owlpaw."

"Lovely to meet you," Cedarfall mewed.

Owlpaw dipped her head but gave no indication of a response. _Do they know that I can't speak? _She looked between the ShadowClan cats. _They're not my enemies. They're not my friends, but they're not enemies, either. What am I worrying about?_

"How's Skymoon?" Nightwing suddenly asked.

Owlpaw blinked in surprise. _Skymoon? What does she have to do with anything?_

Ravenpaw answered for her. "She's fine," the black apprentice replied dismissively. "Ignoring Larkflight, as always."

"Larkflight?" Cedarfall tipped her head to one side. "Is he a ThunderClan warrior?"

"Yeah, and he's all moony over her," Ravenpaw purred. "But I don't think Skymoon notices. She's a bit odd, if you ask me. She floats around with her head in the clouds, doesn't really talk to anyone."

Nightwing shrugged. "My sister and I met her a few times when we were apprentices," she said. "She seemed nice enough." She looked over Owlpaw's shoulder and suddenly commented, "Yes, there she is, over in the corner of the Island where she usually is, with Duckfeather and her RiverClan friends."

"And Ferndust is with her, and Aura, too." Cedarfall's tailtip twitched back and forth. "Should we go and say hello? I'd love to hear what Aura has to say."

Owlpaw frowned. _About what?_

"I wouldn't mind saying hello to Duckfeather," Nightwing mewed. She glanced back at Ravenpaw and Owlpaw. "Do you want to join us?"

Owlpaw was about to nod when she suddenly remembered Aura and the way she'd reacted when she was asked to tell the story of her journey to ThunderClan. She felt very uncomfortable. _Maybe not,_ she said to Ravenpaw.

Ravenpaw nodded, the memory still fresh in her mind. "We'll pass," she mewed. "Go and see how, um, other cats are doing."

"Other cats? You mean WindClan?" Cedarfall's hard golden eyes shone with amusement. "Aren't you at war with them? And you want to share tongues with your enemies?"

"There's a truce," Ravenpaw reminded her, nodding pointedly at the full moon. "And we can do what we like," she added, "within reason."

"True," Nightwing nodded. She gave Cedarfall a nudge. "Come on! I want to say hello to Skymoon and Aura." On silent paws the two ShadowClan warriors had melted into the crowd.

Owlpaw stared after them in surprise. Did they always have to...vanish?

Ravenpaw snorted beside her. "Ignore it. They always do that."

Owlpaw suddenly had the curious sensation that she was being watched. She glanced over her shoulder, almost immediately to meet a pair of strange yellow eyes, full of thought and curiosity. They belonged to a wiry stone-gray tom who sat at the edge of the clearing.

Ravenpaw followed her gaze, and Owlpaw felt her sister's surprise sear both their pelts. "That's Hookclaw," she murmured. "ShadowClan's deputy. What's he doing over there—and why's he watching you?"

Owlpaw shrugged and glanced back at her sister. _Maybe he wants to talk to a medicine cat,_ she guessed.

"But he could go to the Great Oak for that." Ravenpaw frowned. "Dovewing said that Hookclaw was the type not to trust. Plus," she added in an undertone, "he looks a bit creepy. Come on, let's go find Nightwing. I'd rather be awkward around Aura than uncomfortable around _him_."

She rose quickly to her paws and stepped into the crowd. Owlpaw got to her paws and started to hurry after her, almost immediately to be knocked off her feet as a broad-shouldered tom strode past.

_Hey!_ Owlpaw thought indignantly, glaring after him. He'd marched on without so much as saying sorry. Shaking her head clear, she got back onto her paws and looked around to see where Ravenpaw had gone.

Suddenly she heard an unfamiliar voice rasp in her ear, "Don't mind Smoketail. My brother tends to have that arrogant air about him."

Owlpaw whisked around in surprise. Right behind her was Hookclaw. His yellow eyes glittered with amusement as he looked after the tom, padding away into the crowd. "He was much worse as an apprentice," Hookclaw went on. "Absolutely unbearable—but he still had all the she-cats in the Clan padding after him." He shook his head. "Anyway, enough about my brother."

Owlpaw stared quietly at the ShadowClan tom. He was very...big, and looked very fit and strong.

"What's your name?" Hookclaw asked. He seemed okay—he spoke lightly, curiously.

Owlpaw hesitated. How to say? Ravenpaw had gone to speak with the ShadowClan and RiverClan cats at the edge of the clearing, and she could see Clawpaw and Graypaw happily showing off their fighting moves with some WindClan and RiverClan apprentices.

"You don't speak much, do you?" he said.

Owlpaw glanced at him and shook her head. _I might as well be polite. Jayfeather said I could talk._

"Shy?"

Again she shook her head. _I'm physically incapable of doing so,_ she thought, for the millionth time.

Hookclaw's eyes suddenly brightened. "Ahh...that she-cat you were just with now, that was Ravenpaw, yes?" Owlpaw nodded. "I thought I recognized such a striking young she-cat. Is she your littermate?" Owlpaw consented. "Then you must be Owlpaw, the new ThunderClan medicine cat apprentice." Hookclaw dipped his head briefly. "How nice to meet you at last. You haven't attended many Gatherings."

Owlpaw frowned. How'd he know her name? _Maybe Dewtuft told him about me from my first Gathering._ The very first time she'd stepped onto the Island, Jayfeather had taken her to meet all the other medicine cats from around the lake, Dewtuft from ShadowClan, Willowshine from RiverClan, and Kestrelflight and Lightbreeze from WindClan. _I'm actually quite surprised I remembered their names..._

"I hope Jayfeather is a good mentor to you," Hookclaw remarked, seating himself beside her and keenly looking into the crowd of cats beyond. "Dewtuft sometimes says that he can be rather...tiresome."

Owlpaw shrugged. She didn't really know how to respond to the ShadowClan deputy. Maybe he wasn't expecting an answer, because he went on. "Your sister introduced you to Cedarfall and Nightwing, our newest warriors, a moment ago," he said. "Cedarfall was my apprentice. She was a very bright young thing, but always a little too friendly with other Clan cats." He chuckled. "She would've made a fine medicine cat."

Owlpaw frowned. Should a former warrior mentor be saying such a thing about his former apprentice?

"According to Dewtuft," Hookclaw said suddenly, "you can't speak." He turned to her. "Is that true? I'm guessing it is, since you haven't made a single sound all evening."

Owlpaw nodded warily.

"So silence is natural for you, just as darkness is natural to your mentor." Hookclaw sounded as though he were contemplating the matter. "You know," he went on, "silence is perfectly natural to all ShadowClan cats. We're used to it—we _adore_ it."

Owlpaw frowned. Where was this going?

"Clearly," Hookclaw mewed, "Jayfeather didn't think you fit or strong enough to come to frequent Gatherings." Owlpaw turned to him urgently, wishing that somehow she could prove him wrong—she wasn't weak!—but again, not expecting some response, the ShadowClan deputy continued. "But I can see the doubt in your eyes, young Owlpaw. You fail to understand that your silence...it is not a deformity, but a _gift_."

He turned his strange yellow eyes to Owlpaw's amber. "In ShadowClan, we learn to use this gift, but our apprentices, they have to be _taught_ to be silent. They have to learn to accept this silence. It takes time, the most of our training." He leaned close, and his voice seemed soft and mellow. "You are a natural silent one, and I admire you for your fortune."

Owlpaw stared at him in surprise. He..._admired_ her silence?

"I've overheard a few conversations from your littermates," Hookclaw mewed. His eyes were very warm, very friendly. "You're an excellent fighter. You have natural warrior strengths." Owlpaw ducked her head, pleased by his praise even if he was from another Clan. "But yet you chose the path of a medicine cat," he went on, sounding puzzled. "You thought that your silence meant that you couldn't live the life of a warrior."

His whiskers suddenly twitched, and his eyes sought out a particular ThunderClan tom in the crowd. "Yet Jaggedpaw—or does he have a warrior name now?—has something others consider a deformity, he believes is a strength. He can live a full warrior's life despite his physical disadvantage...and so can you." He turned solemnly back to Owlpaw. "Owls are creatures of the night, birds of silence—perhaps, just like my mother, you were born in the wrong Clan."

Owlpaw frowned. _Mother?_ she wondered.

It was as though Hookclaw read her mind. "Don't you see? We are kin—my mother was Tawnypelt, my father Rowanstar. She is your grand-aunt, brother to your grandfather Bramblestar. We are both descended from Tigerstar—and while he is remembered for his infamy, ShadowClan remembers him for what good he gave our Clan."

Owlpaw's eyes widened. Tigerstar was evil through and through! He killed to get his way!

"Oh, I see the shock in your eyes," Hookclaw murmured. He sounded unsurprised. "I know what you must be feeling. Why would we honour such a terrible cat? Well, truth be told, it was what became of Tigerstar that made him evil. He was consumed by ambition—but few remember that while Tigerstar is a murderer, a traitor and a Dark Forest spirit, he also rebuilt ShadowClan from near-extermination in the old forest. He saved ShadowClan, gave life back to the darkness and made us proud and strong again."

His eyes gleamed. "Some, like your noble grandfather, refuse to be proud of being one of his descendants. But some of us _are_—and you should be, too."

Owlpaw dug her claws into the earth beneath her. _I'm being told by my kin that Tigerstar isn't bad. And I have no idea what to do or to think. _And yet she felt no fear. Hookclaw didn't seem so bad. He liked the fact that she was born a mute. He even thought that it would be a strength.

_In ShadowClan!_

She studied his face intently, searching for the truth behind his motives. Almost at once his eyes narrowed into slits, shielding away all the emotion that flashed and flared within.

"My apologies," Hookclaw mewed curtly, "but I don't appreciate having my thoughts read. Yes, I can tell that you naturally read expression and emotions from others, just as you give them to get your opinion across. I watched you and your sister doing it as easily as two cats would have a vocal conversation."

Owlpaw shrugged her apology, though inside she was surprised. He _knew_ she could read expression? It came so naturally—and it was a necessity, given that she could not communicate any other way than to give emotion and use body and eye language.

"Your grandfather was a good cat," Hookclaw meowed. His eyes grew thoughtful. "He was leader of ThunderClan for many seasons, a reign that challenged the length of Firestar's."

Owlpaw stared at the ShadowClan deputy in surprise. _He knew Bramblestar?_

"He was a mirror-image of my brother, Tigerheart." Hookclaw's eyes flicked to the boughs of the Great Oak, where Owlpaw saw the ShadowClan leader perched on a branch and having a steady conversation with Reedstar nearby. "They had the same dark tabby fur, the same broad shoulders and strong, lithe bodies. Bramblestar was a very wise and skillful leader of ThunderClan for many generations, and it seems that with his death—may he hunt well in StarClan—all these attributes have passed on to his nephew. Tigerheart is a magnificent leader of ShadowClan, and I am proud and honoured to serve as his deputy."

Owlpaw slowly nodded. _Okay, that's nice...but is this going somewhere?_

"But currently we have no ShadowClan apprentices, nor queens to give them." Hookclaw sighed. "Perhaps we will have more apprentices one day." He turned and met Owlpaw's gaze with a carefully guarded glint in his eyes. "Your Clan may not believe in you and your ability to become a warrior," he murmured, and leaned close. "But know, Owlpaw, that there is one who does. Your kin. Your friend."

Owlpaw stared at him in open disbelief. _Is he...suggesting what I _think_ he's suggesting?_

"Thank you for those kind words, Hookclaw."

A clear, dangerous voice suddenly echoed from behind Owlpaw, and both she and Hookclaw jerked their heads up in surprise. Skymoon stood just behind her, but there was a strange, guarded expression in her dark blue eyes as she stared at the ShadowClan tom.

"It's good to know that there is kin in ThunderClan that you're _proud_ of," she went on, voice eerily gentle. She padded forward until her fur brushed against Owlpaw's—the young apprentice could sense a strange volatile energy beginning to stir beneath the young warrior's pelt. "And I think we're all waiting for you to go and take your place beside Ivypool," Skymoon added, curling her tail firmly around Owlpaw's flanks. "We're all waiting for you."

Owlpaw glanced uneasily between Hookclaw and her Clanmate. The energy simmering beneath Skymoon's pelt was growing unbearably strong, and open hostility was sparking between the two warriors.

Hookclaw, a small sneer on his muzzle, rose to his paws. "Then I'd best not keep my brother waiting," he said in a voice smooth as milk, but which concealed a much bitterer edge beneath. Strangely-shaped claws jumped out of his forepaws and dug into the soft earth beneath him. "It's good to stand by your _brothers_, after all."

Skymoon's ears flattened. "It's even better to stand by your _friends_." The energy was positively fizzing now. Owlpaw bushed her fur up nervously.

_What's going on between them? _The words were foreign to her, but there seemed to be some deeper meaning that both warriors understood all too well.

Hookclaw's whiskers twitched, but the mirth didn't reach his eyes that were suddenly cold and dark as a stone's heart. "Best look after them," he whispered, so softly that only Owlpaw's attuned hearing could pick it out. "I've heard the rumours about you, _freak_. But not even a fancy pelt show is going to protect that _rogue _forever."

Then he turned and disappeared soundlessly into the crowd. Skymoon watched him go, the energy crackling beneath her fur, until it gradually began to simmer and die away.

_What was that?_ Owlpaw stared at her in bewilderment. _What in the name of StarClan were they on about?_

Skymoon looked down at her. Her face was expressionless but her eyes were still misty with memory. At length she rose to her paws and gently brushed her tailtip along Owlpaw's flank.

"Come on, Owlpaw. Take your place beneath the Great Oak. The Gathering's about to start." Her eyes darkened. "But stay close to Jayfeather, whatever you do."

Owlpaw nodded, unsure what else to do. She still didn't understand what had just happened. She didn't understand why Skymoon led her personally to the Great Oak's roots and left only when she'd sat down at her mentor's side.

_But then again, I don't understand Skymoon._

Owlpaw frowned and her gaze flitted to the other side of the Great Oak, where she could make out Hookclaw's stone-gray fur against the white tabby pelt of Ivypool and the brown-furred deputies of WindClan and RiverClan, Heathertail and Mallownose. The deputy of ShadowClan had his attention focused upon the leaders within the Oak, listening carefully to all that was being said.

_He doesn't seem so bad, just an honest deputy. He was nice to me, if a bit...mysterious._ Owlpaw slowly shook her head. _Skymoon has bees in her brain. Whatever she has against Hookclaw—whatever my sister has against him, too!—it doesn't matter. It's a truce. We're allowed to talk, share compliments, learn about what we think of matters of history..._

_Besides,_ she added, _I'm a medicine cat. We aren't bound by the same code warriors follow. We can have friendships in other Clans just as much as we can have kin beyond the borders of our birth territory. Hookclaw doesn't challenge me for who I am like everyone did and does in my Clan._

_No matter what happens between ThunderClan and ShadowClan in the future, if anything, I'll always respect him for that._

* * *

**A/N: And FINALLY, I get a moment to write out Hookclaw in a...different perspective... :D Of course, he's always up to his tricks. Darn ShadowClan cats...**

**Next time, chapter five: The Dreamer. We're back to looking through the eyes of a familiar she-cat who used to have them all the time...**


	5. The Dreamer

**A/N: Yay, I'm back to school today. :P And awesummm! Seven reviews last chappy! If you guys keep adding at least seven reviews to every upcoming chapter, we'll eventually wind up with (calculates) somewhere near 200 reviews at the end of DOtT! Yayz!**

**In any case, here, have a suspenseful chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Five

THE DREAMER

* * *

Not for the first time, Skymoon found herself in a horrifying dream of the future.

She stood on the shore with blood lapping at her paws. It formed the very waters of the lake, a dark fathomless expanse of crimson before her. The trees that rose up around her were bone-white, barren of bark and dead-looking, their trunks wreathed in a shrouding silvery mist. The grass was dead and slimy beneath her paws. There were no stars in a dark sky that stretched high above. A sun hovered there, black as ash, its rays feebly bleeding out on all sides of it.

"You can't save them."

Skymoon stiffened. She dug her claws into the peaty earth and slowly turned around. Every hair quivered and trembled on her body. She searched for the power of Time that slept in her soul and stirred in her blood, but to her horror, she could hardly feel its energies. _Where are you? Come on, I need you!_

"You can try, but you just can't."

The voice was only vaguely familiar; her insight told her that she'd heard it once before. It spoke in a cruel sneer, mirthless and jeering. The shadows seemed to flicker with a life of their own. The trees loomed above her, skeletal limbs leering over her. She suddenly felt very small and helpless, as though she were a kit all over again, frightened of a nightmare.

_Nightmares..._Skymoon frowned. The speaker wasn't Mapleshade, and Nightmares were _her_ calling, and hers alone.

A slender tom stepped from the darkness. His eyes shone with a familiar malevolence, the core blank and dark and burning bright with vengeance. His mottled brown and ginger fur seemed to shine with a strange light, and the mist wreathed around his paws.

_Redwillow,_ Skymoon realized. The old memory of her first experience of the Dark Forest—eavesdropping on a conversation between spirits and living of the Place Of No Stars—came to light, and she remembered Redwillow's presence there. _He's the one who walks the sky paths. He's the one who brought Breezepelt and Scourge to the meeting._

"Blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red," Redwillow purred.

Skymoon glared at him. "Not while I breathe."

"You believe you can stand alone against the Dark Forest?" Redwillow gave a mirthless _mrrow_. "StarClan must be confident in your time-warped abilities, Skymoon. Or they're just _desperate_. They have no idea how many we number now."

Skymoon lifted her chin. "They have no chance against a tiger."

"And you have no chance against the Nightmares," Redwillow sneered. "You should have killed Mapleshade when you had the chance. The Nightmares were _hers alone_ to control and command. If you had killed her, you could have actually made the odds against you lessen! Now they continue to torment and inspire fear into the hearts of all who sleep."

"You give me no fear," Skymoon growled. "You're just a phantom who haunts the sky paths."

Redwillow's whiskers twitched. "And you're just a dreamer. Didn't you once tell Mapleshade that you were the queen of dreams? Yet your dreams are darker now, Skymoon. They're full of death and misery. You see our influence around you every day. We just can't _get off your mind_."

Skymoon unsheathed her claws. "I can get you off my mind right here and now. I'm not afraid to kill."

"Oh, aren't you?" Redwillow tilted his head. "Then do it. Look. I'm not even going to put up a fight."

There was a dangerous edge to his words that made Skymoon hesitate. She remained where she was. Every instinct in her body warned her not to move, and here in an echo of the future, it was all she could do to trust it. She didn't move. The shadows were watching and waiting.

"Coward," Redwillow sniffed.

"Wiser," Skymoon retorted. "Now get out of my face, mange-fur."

Redwillow smirked. "Not before you taste the lake water. Go on. Drink some. Drink the blood and the tears of all those who you will try to defend, and fail to. Taste what a moonless night will bring."

Skymoon warily turned to the dark scarlet water lapping at the shore. "Drink," Redwillow whispered, "and feel their pain and anguish as they feel their way to StarClan—all our old Clanmates. _They_ will suffer even more in the Dark Forest for their disloyalty."

Her fur bushed up and she whirled around. "Should you dare lay claw to any warrior, Dark Forest or not, I will make you suffer more than you could ever imagine."

"Oh _come_ now, young warrior." Redwillow leaned forward. "Don't make promises you won't be able to keep."

"These aren't promises," Skymoon snarled. "They are events that _will come_ in the future, should you dare set foot at the lake."

Redwillow _mrrow_ed with laughter. "You think these cats have the strength to fight us a second time!" he exclaimed. "How _adorable!_ You have no idea what forces stir in the darkness, Skymoon. You have no idea of the storm that is brewing on the horizon, gathered on a dark breeze. If you have no idea, nor do these cats you so desire to protect and defend against us." He tilted his head. "Nobody beyond the Forest knows, all save one, the _misguided_ daughter of the sun."

"Aura." Skymoon's eyes widened. "She knows..."

"Exactly." Redwillow took a few pawsteps forward until his muzzle was just a few mouse-lengths from Skymoon's own. "Taste the blood-waters, Skymoon. Learn who will die if she will live. Feel their suffering as your own."

Skymoon backed warily away. Her hind foot touched the edge of the water, and the dusky gray fur became coated with a slick, slimy layer of dark crimson blood. Gagging, she dragged it across the stones. It didn't leave her fur, sticking to her like slime.

"_Drink_," Redwillow urged.

Suddenly dark red washed all around her, sticking to her paws and dragging her down. Skymoon stifled a horrified yelp as she lost her balance. Her paws had turned to stone. She squeezed her eyes shut as darkness overtook her vision. Then blood was all around her. The lake had taken her, swallowed her. Her lungs began to scream for air. Spots danced across her vision.

_I'm going to die here!_

Terrified, she flailed, opening her mouth in a frantic attempt for the surface.

Blood, bitter, warm blood stung her tongue and filled her mouth. Pain shot through every inch of her body and an anguished wail tore from her throat. Her lungs ached no more. The world vanished and reformed, forming slick, wet grass under her and an icy night air. It slapped her and all the cuts on her body, and she slumped where she lay, too exhausted to move.

It was only when she saw her forepaw, stretched out in front of her and drenched in her own life's crimson, that Skymoon realized that it wasn't hers. It was broad and golden, with tabby markings. Her body felt different, bigger and muscular—and she'd been ripped open throat to tail in the same deadly move that had dispatched Tigerstar in life...

_This is not my body._ Skymoon struggled to move, but as she did a soft groan escaped her—and the voice was deeper, and instantly recognizable. _Oh, StarClan...I'm Lionstar!_

And she could feel all his lives ebbing away as his lifeblood drooled from the deadly wound.

Blood filled her mouth. The world darkened, reformed. Skymoon cried out as a terrible blinding pain gripped her neck—the cry was Ivypool's. She fell to the ground, already dead before she made contact with the splattered earth.

_No!_

Blood stung her tongue. The world changed around her. Pain lanced through her body with the force of a bear's bite, and a cruel snicker sounded against her ears. A tuft of her fur clung to her murderer's claws—tortoiseshell-and-white. Its scent belonged to Blossomfall.

_Stop this! Stop this!_

But it did not stop. It went on and on. She found herself not just in the bodies of ThunderClan warriors who formerly had trained in the Dark Forest, but in warriors of other Clans as well. Tigerheart slithered down from the Great Oak to writhe upon the ground, a single slash from chin to tail draining all nine lives from him as it had his grandfather. Applefur's neck was broken in the jaws of a formless shadow that reeked of decay and the Place Of No Stars. Ratscar was lost in a mass of darkness, glinting claws and teeth. Hollowflight sank onto his side, struggling to breathe as scarlet soaked his scruff. Icewing rushed to his side, only to fall as she was torn apart by vengeance-driven claws. Harespring raced from the Island with the speed of the wind, but it was not enough to outrun Dark Forest claws that dragged him down as though he were prey. Mousewhisker was murdered before his littermates' eyes.

And in the shadows, as Skymoon felt herself die from a fatal wound in her Clanmate's body, a single set of pawsteps approached her. In her hazing vision, she made out Aura's astonishingly pale golden eyes.

"They died for me," she said quietly, and her clear golden eyes were filled with sorrow. "They died because there was only one."

_No,_ Skymoon tried to say. _No, it can't...it can't happen. I won't let it happen._

"I'm so sorry," Aura whispered. "But a tiger alone cannot stand against a dark dawn."

_Who else? _Skymoon whispered. _Who else must there be if not a tiger?_

"The darkness is a tiger's bane," Aura murmured, and she leaned close. Her clear golden eyes sparkled with that infinite wisdom. "Beside her must stand a mane of sun and one of the leopard's blood—together as three, sun, shadow and blood will meet their match."

_I don't understand..._Skymoon's eyes slid shut.

Redwillow's scorn followed her to consciousness. "_They will die, and you can do nothing. For you are alone, Tiger of Time, and One is not Four._"

* * *

The roof of the warrior's cave was starting to become depressingly familiar to Skymoon. She always woke on her back with her voice locked and frozen in her throat.

Sunshine was spilling freely through the knotted den walls. _I've overslept again._ Groaning, Skymoon rolled onto her front and pushed herself onto drowsy paws. _This is familiar...only Cherrypelt isn't standing outside waiting for me._

She heard agitated pawsteps thudding out there nonetheless. _No, it's someone else. Ivypool, about to chew my whiskers off for oversleeping? Larkflight, doing the same but out of concern?_

After giving herself a quick wash, Skymoon pushed her way out of the warriors' den and into the sunlit hollow. It was well past sunrise, and the morning dew had nearly dried from the grass. _I'm very late,_ she thought anxiously, _but I'll have to speak with—_

"Skymoon, at last you wake up!"

She'd been wrong before—it was neither Larkflight nor Ivypool who had been pacing outside the den, but her own father, Bumblestripe. Immediately his tongue rasped over her ear, and when Skymoon stepped back, his eyes were full of fear.

"You haven't overslept for a long time," he meowed anxiously. "Did you have dreams again? Should I get Jayfeather?"

Skymoon shook him off. "I'm fine, Father." _I'm not. Of course I'm not, and we both know it._ "But I have to speak with Aura."

Bumblestripe frowned only for a moment. He'd left behind his mistrust for the young, wise she-cat, but he still harboured dislike for the former rogue. "She's by the nursery again," he obliged. "But what about duties, patrols? Who'll—?"

"I bet Aura's told Lionstar already." Skymoon looked past her father towards the nursery across the clearing. The young tortoiseshell she-cat was curled up in a sunny patch, watching Redkit and Sunkit play with a scrap of moss; the little golden tabby tom had recovered quickly from his beesting a few weeks ago. _Thrushsong's out in the forest,_ she realized. _She's been clamouring for a walk for days._

"I'd better speak with her," Skymoon mewed, padding away. "This can't wait." Her mind flicked back to the dream...or vision. It was still violently real in her mind; she could taste the blood in her mouth all over again.

Bumblestripe kept pace with her for a few moments. "Are you all right, Skymoon? What happened?"

Skymoon sighed. "It doesn't concern you, what I saw," she murmured, which was true; her parents hadn't been harmed amidst the number of ThunderClan cats who'd been killed. _But there are so many others who are in danger..._

Bumblestripe's face fell in a worried frown. "Can Dovewing help?" he begged. "You'd put my old heart at rest if you spoke with us more often, love."

"I'm sorry, Father, but she can't." Skymoon glanced back at him. "And this is something that only Aura and I can discuss." _This isn't the first time I've gone to her...but he makes a bigger fuss than ever each time._ She dipped her head once to her father, then hurried across the clearing to the nursery.

Aura was already looking up as she approached. "It warms my heart to see you and your father together," she murmured, already half in memory. "Bonded and caring in the way a true father and daughter should."

Skymoon frowned in worry. Aura had been like this for weeks—nostalgic and distant, thinking more and more about her brief time with SunClan, her Clan of birth. She settled down beside her. "Are you all right?"

"I will be, in time," Aura replied. She turned her gaze to the two kits, flipping the moss high above their heads. "Sunkit and Redkit are nearing their sixth moon," she mused. "Perhaps tonight's Gathering will be just as uneventful as the last."

Skymoon narrowed her eyes. _I wouldn't say the last was entirely uneventful._ She'd caught Owlpaw speaking with Hookclaw—well, not really _speaking_, but rather listening to what he had to say. _And that mange-pelt has nothing good to say to anyone outside ShadowClan. What did he want with her?_

"Aura," she began uneasily, but Aura cut across her.

"I know what you saw," she said. "The Dark Forest's strength grows." Her voice had dropped into a whisper; the kits didn't take notice in the slightest, focusing on shredding the moss between their little claws. "When the moon goes out, beware the darkness that follows. The Clans must look to a moon to protect them from the endless night."

Skymoon gave a soft hiss. "In my dream, not even a moon, it seemed, could save the Clans."

"Why? What did you see?" Aura narrowed her eyes. "What did I say?"

Skymoon wondered why Aura didn't seem to already know, but she obliged, telling the strange omen the young tortoiseshell had passed down to her. Aura listened, and her eyes became clear and thoughtful again.

"Have you ever been told the legend of the three great Clans?" she asked.

Skymoon frowned, recollecting all the nursery stories Dovewing had told her in her kithood. "The one about LionClan, TigerClan and LeopardClan?"

"Yes, that story. Have you been told the three legends?"

Skymoon shook her head. "They're very ancient legends, of an even more ancient forest. Dovewing only told me that they are the ancestors of the Clans as we know them today—that lions were the mightiest, with manes like the sun; tigers were the stealthiest, who stalked in the shadows and perfected the art of the hunt; leopards were as swift as the winds, and their pelts were dappled with their own paw prints."

Aura gave a small _mrrow_. "Yes, there is that, too. That is true, according to the legends. What the omen spoke of—_beside her must stand a mane of sun and one of the leopard's blood_—it refers to the two others, born with Tigermarks. Just as the tiger is your calling, your form, your being when confronted by the Four, the lion and the leopard are the others'."

"But I still haven't found them yet." Skymoon scowled. "I don't understand. My powers are honed and strong. I can see more accurately into the future each passing day, and my Manipulation is something to beware. It's becoming known in all four Clans. WindClan knows, RiverClan knows...and ShadowClan's picking up on the rumours."

She turned urgently back to Aura. "Going back to the dream, I saw all the old recruits of the Dark Forest being killed...and they always seemed to be dying in one place..."

"...the Gathering Island," Aura concluded grimly.

"But what does that mean?" Skymoon dug her claws into the earth beneath her. "Are they going to attack during a time of the truce? When we're..." Her voice died. _Oh, no...no...no!_

"Yes, Skymoon." Aura's voice was quiet and sad. "They will attack in a time of truce—they will violate the will of StarClan and shroud the moon. But _it must burn bright_ for the sake of the Clans." She looked at Skymoon fiercely. "I know that you have not used your abilities and gifts for many moons. It is time to wake them again. Darkness is coming to the lake. If you are not strong, then the lake will run red."

Skymoon flattened her ears. "I'll try," she murmured. "But a tiger can't protect all who are descended from the lion and leopard, too."

"But you _have_, Skymoon." Aura placed one white paw on Skymoon's own dusky gray. "You protected ShadowClan and ThunderClan alike from Rowanstar's madness. You let the tiger be shown against WindClan, a sign that this war will lead nowhere. Sedgestar will learn this for herself soon enough. And RiverClan...need I remind you of a tiger's wrath against a queen of nightmare?"

"Aura, it's not going to be enough." Skymoon lashed her tail across the ground. "What's coming is more terrible than I think either of us really anticipated." She glanced at Aura, who gazed solemnly back. "Unless you haven't told me all that you know—just what I want to hear."

Aura frowned. "What are you saying?"

"Redwillow says there are dangers that I can't stand against—but that _you_ know of." Skymoon shot a worried glance at the kits. They were chasing a butterfly around the clearing, watched with amusement by many of the senior warriors. "They're going to attempt your life, so the knowledge dies with you."

Aura looked low for a few moments. Then she murmured, "I'm full-grown now. My father and the rest of his Clan will be well aware of the danger that I pose, for the knowledge that lies in my mind continues to grow by the day." Her tortoiseshell fur shivered on her shoulders. "I can't turn my back on my past forever. RiverClan is starting to wonder if I really am the daughter of Sol, from what they overheard between you and Mapleshade five moons ago."

Skymoon dwelled on the memory. RiverClan cats had witnessed the attack—and they had listened, too. Rumours were spreading, and cats were starting to talk. The young warrior closed her eyes and sighed. What would they do if they learned of Aura's parentage?

_They'll chase her out. They'll attack us again._ She frowned. _Not even the rest of ThunderClan knows who Aura really is. Only me. They don't even know what threat looms on the horizon, what clouds cover the sky..._

"We should tell them." The words came from her mouth before she could think.

Aura blinked, startled. "What?"

"Tonight's Gathering." Skymoon turned to her. "Have Lionstar announce it to all the Clans." She felt dread coil inside her at the thought, but pushed on regardless. "Then there'll be nothing to hide. They can appreciate the danger that—"

"No." Aura's mew was firm, and Skymoon fell silent at once. "No," Aura repeated more gently. "They are not ready—especially in these times of turmoil. The danger that will come will present itself, stir old memories in the hearts and souls of all those who were once of the Place Of No Stars. Not until SkyClan returns to the lake and the four Clans will they be ready."

_Of course. SkyClan._ Skymoon's thoughts immediately flashed back to her apprenticeship; when she'd walked in StarClan more than once, spoken with her ancestors and learned of her prophecy, and her deeds that she had to do. She remembered the ancient leaders of the four Clans, how they wished for an ancient wrong to be mended. _SkyClan must return to the four Clans,_ Birchstar, old leader of RiverClan, had cried.

"But I don't know how," she whispered. "How do I bring a whole Clan to the lake?"

Aura gave a small sigh. "You have enjoyed the peace and the growth of new life as the forest healed," she murmured. "You have rarely used your powers. You have watched over the apprentices of ThunderClan with a caring eye, and you search in your dreams and in me for answers. They will come in time—and time is _your_ calling, remember."

She lifted her chin. "You must turn your eyes to your destiny now, Skymoon. The sky paths have been opened—Redwillow the pilgrim spirit enforces the bonds between dead and living. Now you must protect your namesake. SkyClan is in danger—and they look for a moon to protect them from the endless night."

Skymoon looked down. "I haven't been ignoring my destiny..."

"...but you have tried to keep it at the back of your mind." Aura nodded to the kits. "Yet you struggle. Sunkit stirs dark memories when you hear his name, see him play. Your latest dream of death and blood; the lives of many are in danger. Their strength has nearly gathered, as has yours. The stars rely on you."

Skymoon looked down. "How should I start, then?" She remembered her warrior ceremony—Aura had had faith in her. Even StarClan had had faith in her. She had to have faith in herself if she wanted to succeed. "I can't do this alone."

Aura gave a gentle purr and leaned against her shoulder. "You _aren't_ alone," she murmured. "If you are lost, then begin by seeking the others who possess the Tigermarks. They will have a paw in your journey, and in your destiny, too."

A shadow suddenly fell over them and Skymoon looked up. Lionstar stood over her. His golden eyes seemed certain on some point that he clearly had been mulling over for some time.

"What's on your mind?" Skymoon asked, pushing herself into a sitting position.

Lionstar beckoned to her with the tip of his tail. "Come, Skymoon. There's something that I'd like to discuss with you."

* * *

"Hazeltail, I'll have you lead a hunting patrol. Have a sniff around the ShadowClan border while you're at it. Take your apprentice, Seednose, Toadstep, Dustfoot and Mousewhisker." Ivypool turned to the next gathering of cats. "Dovewing, take a border patrol down to the lake. Take Hollythorn, Rosepetal, Stormbreeze and Moleclaw along. Blossomfall , Dewclaw, I trust you want to take your apprentices out for training today. Very well, but be back in the hollow by sundown."

The cats separated to do their aligned duties. Those who hadn't been assigned to a duty looked at each other in pleasure. They had the whole afternoon to themselves. Skymoon hadn't called a patrol or hunting party, and nor had her friends.

"Isn't this nice?" Ferndust came to her side with her tabby tail high in the air. "We should go down to the shore and watch the sunlight on the water—or just go for a walk. I really want to stretch my legs!"

Skymoon nodded, absently watching Hazeltail leading Graypaw and the rest of the patrol through the thorn tunnel and out into the forest. The Gathering a few nights ago had proved uneventful—Lionstar and Sedgestar had traded angry barbs at one another, though Reedstar and Tigerheart had helped resolve the situation, as had the medicine cats.

_Medicine cats..._She looked towards the medicine den. Jayfeather was just emerging from the brambles, Owlpaw at his side and listening carefully to all that he was telling her.

"Tansy and borage, remember. I know you know their scents, so tag along with Hazeltail's patrol—hurry, they're leaving." Owlpaw nodded and hurried towards the thorn tunnel where Toadstep, who was at the rear of the patrol, was just disappearing through it. A moment later the tawny-and-white she-cat had vanished into the forest.

Larkflight gave a small _mrrow_. "Look at her. Such a devoted apprentice. I imagine if she could speak she'd be talking Jayfeather's ear off."

Skymoon didn't say a word. She cast her mind back to the most recent Gathering—the one before it, she'd been getting friendly with Hookclaw. This Gathering, she'd seen her with him again. They'd been talking, and Hookclaw appeared to have been showing her all through ShadowClan, introducing her to various cats.

_I have to have a word with her._ She dug her claws uneasily into the ground. _If she's getting friendly with Hookclaw, he can't have something good in mind. What use would he have with a mute medicine cat apprentice?_

"Where's Aura?" Ferndust asked suddenly. "She's not by the nursery." Sunkit and Redkit weren't either, but outside the elders' den and listening to all the stories Squirrelflight was telling them.

"She went out for a walk," Skymoon replied. She pictured Aura padding sedately through the forest, the canopy shadows dappling over her tortoiseshell pelt. "She probably won't be back for a few hours."

Larkflight twitched the tip of his tail. "You seem distant today." He paused. "In fact, you're always distant."

Skymoon spared an anguished glance at the mottled brown-and-black tom. "I'm sorry," she said. "My mind's on other things."

"Come on," Ferndust pressed. "Let's go sit down in the sun."

They passed Jaggedstep and Frostshine, who were sitting with Yellownose and Foxleap, discussing Clan history. Catching sight of the black-and-white tom, Skymoon thought back to his assessment, his curious way of hunting and the strength that had come from his twisted forepaws.

_He's not a bearer of a Tigermark,_ she reminded herself, sitting beside Larkflight and running her tongue a few times over her shoulder, just for something to do. _Nor is his sister. They don't fit with the omen._ Her eyes flicked towards the kits, listening avidly to whatever story Squirrelflight was telling them. _And one of them, Sunkit or Redkit...they carry a mark. But which one?_

Her stomach clenched. She recalled the conversation she'd had with Lionstar before the latest Gathering, and closed her eyes. _This is the worst time for him to extend such an offer to me. But how could I say no?_

"Have you noticed?" Ferndust's mew sliced into Skymoon's thoughts, and the dusky gray she-cat twisted around.

"Noticed what?" Larkflight asked.

Ferndust purred and nodded to Jaggedstep. "How he absolutely _dotes_ on young Ravenpaw," she mewed.

"Oh, that I have," Larkflight nodded. "Well, she's coming close to her warrior ceremony. She's been in training for nearly six moons."

"I won't be surprised if she'll go straight to the nursery after she receives her name," Ferndust remarked. "If she has any idea who she'll pick."

Skymoon thought of the striking black she-cat with the white touch on her chest and tailtip. Young toms were padding after her, hoping she'd look their way. _Well, she won't have any problem deciding who she wants to mate with,_ she thought wryly. "Jaggedstep has his eye on her," she mewed, then gave Ferndust a puzzled glance. "But you have yours on Whiteblaze. Have you told him yet?"

Ferndust bashfully ducked her head. "No."

Larkflight purred and gave her a shove. "Do you want me to tell him?"

"No!" Ferndust exclaimed, eyes round with horror. "He'll never look at me again if I tell him I _like_ him!"

"Or he won't stop looking at you," Skymoon countered.

Ferndust narrowed her eyes and frowned at her friend. "You have insight," she said. "Tell me, what will he do if I tell him I like him?"

Skymoon's whiskers twitched. "I'm not telling you what he'll do. That'll spoil the fun of it, wouldn't it?"

"Too true," Larkflight purred. "You'll have to find out for yourself, I'm afraid!"

"Fox-hearts, the pair of you!" Ferndust said in exasperation.

Skymoon let her friends talk and settled down to think. She had to find the other bearers of the Tigermarks—and the answers, she sensed, would lie in the omen she had been told, and the events that had occurred in the past. She frowned, thinking back to the day of her warrior ceremony, her walk through StarClan, her meeting of the founders of the Clans. She closed her eyes and relived the memory, what Shadow had told her.

_Flamefur is named in honour and memory of Flametail. And Flametail is Tigerstar's grandson—just as Flamefur's kits will be grandchildren of Lionstar, grandchild of Firestar._

Skymoon nodded slowly. _Kin to the fire, bane of the tiger. A Tigermark has been placed in one of them, Redkit or Sunkit...I just wished there was some sign as to _who_ is that bearer._

But what about the litter that came before them—the kits of Hollythorn and Snowfoot? Ravenpaw was who everyone talked about these days, Graypaw was shaping up into a masterful hunter, Clawpaw was fast becoming a respected fighter, and Owlpaw was a skilled, highly perceptive medicine cat.

_Are they a part of the omen?_ She recalled it yet again. _Kin to the fire, bane of the tiger._

_Hollythorn is the daughter of Bramblestar. Bramblestar is the son of Tigerstar—the tiger. _Her heartbeat quickened with rising excitement. _And Snowfoot, the father, he is the son of Brightheart—Cloudtail's kin, and Cloudtail is Firestar's kin—the fire!_

_Her kits could play a part in my prophecy—her kits could have been born with a Tigermark, too!_

But which one?

Skymoon let her senses drift—she called on her insight, seeking the answers. _Is it one of them? The fighter, the hunter, the beauty or the healer?_

Her insight gave her nothing. No sudden burst of realization, no mystical vision of some young cat standing at her side with claws extended and a fierce glint in their eye...no answers. _Am I wrong, then?_

Suddenly the world was lost around her. Darkness shrouded her—she felt as though she were sleeping, carried away in a dream. But one thing was certain in her heart—she was not wrong.

Something was stirring in a strange darkness. All around her were shrieks and screeches of cats in pain. Her vision warped, as though she were looking through rippling water, she watched as cats of all shapes and sizes, pelt colours and scars, wrestled together in a canyon of stone red as blood. Then, when things seemed bleak for one side of the fighters, the side whose numbers were nothing to the enemy led by a sleek black tom with cold amber eyes, there was...

...an unworldly sound. A deep, monstrous roar that pounded in all ears and silenced the battle.

And yet that roar was the most wonderful thing that Skymoon had ever heard.

From the shadows above the gorge there came a great cat—it was bigger than any cat she'd ever seen. Its shape seemed distorted somehow, as though it were swelling in size. Then, in the starlight, Skymoon saw it.

It was a leopard.

Then shadow fell, and she found herself by a lake that felt very familiar. A huge moon was rising in the horizon, casting a bright bluish-silver light over the gently shimmering water. Something lean and dark was gliding across the moon's face. Its feathers were glossy and black, and its berry-bright eyes were alert and sensitive. Across the lake, perched on a tree branch, something else was watching it, with soft tawny feathers and a snowy white face.

_Birds,_ Skymoon realized, _and not just any birds. A raven and an owl._

"...you sleeping again?" A familiar voice interrupted the vision and it vanished. "Unbelievable—it's all you seem to do!"

Skymoon raised her head and found to her surprise that she had dozed off. _I didn't mean to..._Her friends were peering anxiously into her eyes.

"Sorry," she apologized, sitting up. Strangely, she didn't feel tired. Excitement was burning through her veins—she couldn't get the two images that her powers had shown her out of her mind. "I must've dozed off. It's a _lovely_ sunny day."

Larkflight frowned. "Skymoon, are you all right?"

"Never better." Skymoon briefly brushed her nose against his cheek. "But I'm going for a walk."

"Without us?" Larkflight called after her.

"It'll have to be some time later," Skymoon replied, glancing back over her shoulder. "But for now there's something that my dreams just showed me—and Aura has to know." _I think I know who possessors of Tigermarks are!_

Ferndust rolled her eyes. "Of course you do," she mewed, though her eyes shone with similar excitement. "Well, we'll try to save you a sunny patch when you and Aura eventually drift back to reality."

_We are in reality._ Skymoon's paws flew over the forest floor, the hollow already far behind her. _But I've been such a mouse-brain. Why did I not see it before?_

_Owlpaw and Ravenpaw have something special between them—and that can't be coincidence. They're the daughters of Hollythorn, kin to the fire, bane of the tiger. Now I know for certain that I am not alone!_

* * *

**A/N: If anyone's interested about the owl-lake-moon-raven vision, take a look at the cover of this story :)**

**And if you're still reading this, do check out my non-fanfic works on FictionPress, _Moonfire_ and _The K-Squad_. There be dragons...lonely dragons, but dragons...**

**So, readers, the plot thickens! Who do you believe has the Tigermark? Sunkit or Redkit? Ravenpaw or Owlpaw? Both, neither? And what was a leopard doing at the top of the gorge? What _is_ this gorge? Some answers you may know - prove it! Review! You know you want to!**


	6. The First Night

**A/N: Wow, what an awesome response from you folks last chappy! Loads and loads of guesses - Redkit, Sunkit, Ravenpaw, Owlpaw, a shocking twist... You'll learn, in time - or indeed, this chapter - who bears what, or if they bear at all. And _gaahhhhh_, I'm exhausted. First week of school back with a Waitangi day public holiday on Thursday...but enough of my drabble. You want Warriors!**

* * *

Chapter Six

THE FIRST NIGHT

* * *

Jayfeather groaned the instant the thorn barrier began to rattle continuously, and the groaning of cats in pain and hisses of vengeance filled the air. "Unbelievable," he muttered, lashing his tail. "They can't go for _one day_ without having some dispute across the border."

Owlpaw looked up. She could detect the odour of blood from the medicine den. _Another battle,_ she thought, and dug her claws into the soft earth beneath her.

"Well, don't just stand there." Her mentor's head grazed her flanks and Owlpaw stumbled forward. "You've done this countless times before. Go and assess them. I'll follow with medicine. There'll be too many to fit in here and only serious cases may have a nest."

But Owlpaw hadn't even stepped out of the medicine den when suddenly a shadow fell outside—urgent pawsteps thudded on the ground and the next moment, she'd been swept backwards as two cats hurried inside, supporting a groaning she-cat between them.

Almost immediately the scent of blood was all Owlpaw could smell, and her fur bushed out in fear.

"What happened?" Jayfeather demanded at once, already leading the warriors to the nearest nest. The bloodsoaked warrior was laid down in a bedding of bracken and ferns, still moaning softly. Owlpaw's heart tightened in icy fear as she saw the wounds on her body. "Who?"

"Heathertail," one of the warriors who'd carried the injured in—Toadstep, Owlpaw realized—said breathlessly. "She took her by surprise. She would've died if Skymoon hadn't intervened."

Owlpaw hurried to the bleeding warrior's side. She was in a bad way—her breathing was laboured and she was heavily in shock. Scarlet caked her pelt and dirt clung to her legs. Trapped beneath the injured warrior's claws were tufts of pale brown tabby fur with Heathertail's scent.

_The deputy of WindClan? _She_ did this?_

"Can you save her?" The voice trembled with fear, and belonged to Dustfoot.

"No promises," Jayfeather replied. "But you won't do any good just standing around. Get out—you aren't seriously injured. My apprentice will tend to the rest of you outside."

Owlpaw's heart quickened. "You heard me," Jayfeather growled. "Take some herbs and get outside. There's a whole battle patrol of warriors to tend to. I'll look after Stormbreeze."

_Stormbreeze?_ Owlpaw's eyes flashed to the bloodsoaked warrior. Beneath the injuries and dirt was a familiar stormy-gray pelt.

Her paws rooted to the spot, and Owlpaw froze with disbelief. Was Stormbreeze going to die? Of all the wounds from WindClan she'd had to treat with Jayfeather, this one was by far the worst—and the most dangerous. _There's so much blood..._

Jayfeather pushed past her. The gray tabby was urgently pressing soaked moss to Stormbreeze's injuries, but his eyes were focused and his movements sure. Seeing her mentor at work snapped Owlpaw out of her horror. She hurried to the herb store, her frenzied mind scrabbling for the necessary plants used for battle injuries. _Cobwebs, dock, marigold, horsetail, a bit of chervil, comfrey root..._She'd been in training as a medicine cat for six moons, and by now she knew what nearly all of the herbs in the den were and what they were used for almost off by heart.

She snatched up a bit of all and hurried outside. Rain was just starting to drizzle over the forest, sparkling on the pelts of the warriors resting in the clearing outside and looking as battered as if they'd fallen over a cliff.

_Ravenpaw!_ Owlpaw immediately saw her sister. Fortunately she looked relatively unhurt, with only a bit of fur clawed off from her flanks and a scratch on her nose. Her mentor, Blossomfall, stood beside her, cleaning her fur.

More than anything Owlpaw wanted to hurry to her littermate's side and check if she was all right, but she stopped and controlled herself. Jayfeather was relying on her to tend to all the other warriors who'd fought with WindClan, and they were all worse off than her sister. She headed towards the nearest, Seednose, who was spitting curses at the WindClan warrior who'd clawed her fur as she cleaned a gash on her shoulder.

"Owlpaw!" Owlpaw whipped around at the sound of her name; Jaggedstep had hurried towards her, his eyes full of worry. "Where's Jayfeather?"

Owlpaw, in the process of applying a chervil and marigold poultice to Seednose's shoulder, jerked her head in the direction of the medicine den. "Probably tending to Stormbreeze," Seednose filled in with a worried glance at the den. "She's the worst out of all of us."

"Do you need any help?" Jaggedstep asked.

Owlpaw did a quick sweep of all the warriors. There were so many of them. She glanced at the pile of herbs she'd brought. Not enough. She nodded to him.

"I'll get some herbs." Jaggedstep began to pad away, but Owlpaw beckoned him back. She turned away from Seednose for a moment to gesture to each item she needed in particular. Jaggedstep sniffed the leaves carefully, memorizing their scent and their appearance, then turned and bounded into the medicine den.

Relieved at the thought of a steady strain of medicine, Owlpaw set to work. With practiced paws she rubbed the poultice into Seednose's shoulder gash, then covered it with a fine layer of cobweb so it held. Then she gathered up what herbs she had left and moved to the next nearest. She was halfway through tending to a torn ear and a sprained paw on Rosepetal when Jaggedstep returned, carefully holding the fresh bundle of herbs in his mouth.

On and on it went. Owlpaw hardly had to think. One glance over a warrior told her all she needed to know. She remembered, treating a torn claw on Cherrypelt's paw, how in the beginning she'd flinched at the sight of blood, gagged at its scent and cringed chewing the bitter herbs into poultices. Every week seemed to bring in a new patient with clawed fur, and she'd found it hard being Jayfeather's apprentice.

_Now look where I am,_ she thought, moving on from Cherrypelt to Mousewhisker, who was letting his sister Hazeltail clean some scratches on his neck. _Jayfeather trusts me enough to tend to all these warriors on my own._ Despite herself, she was rather pleased. _Perhaps he thinks I'll finish my medicine cat training soon. Then he'll name me, before all the eyes of the medicine cats._

She remembered her first Gathering, and her first meeting with Lightbreeze—the WindClan medicine cat apprentice said that according to Kestrelflight, in the past all the medicine cats would meet at the half moon and journey to the Moonpool to visit StarClan and dream. That was also the time when a medicine cat apprentice was given their name. "We don't go to the Moonpool anymore," she'd said, "but the medicine cats still gather to appreciate the naming of a new medicine cat, and at the Moonpool's banks. You just have to wait a bit longer. If your mentor thinks you're ready, he tells all the other medicine cats during the next Gathering, and they all meet at the half moon at the Moonpool. Then you're properly named. That was how it went for me, at least. Let's hope it goes the same way for you!"

Sometimes Owlpaw wondered what her name could be, or what Jayfeather would call her. Would it be something to do with a bird? Owlfeather? Owlwing? Owlhoot? No, probably not that last one...

"Ouch!" The gasp of her newest patient, Amberheart, jolted Owlpaw out of her thoughts. "That stings!" Owlpaw had been applying a marigold and horsetail poultice to some scratches on her back.

Owlpaw ducked her head quickly in apology, then applied some more. Amberheart flinched but said nothing. After a moment, the gray she-cat murmured, "This was a particularly heated battle."

Owlpaw blinked in curiosity at the senior warrior. Would she explain?

"It started when a pair of WindClan apprentices—Nettlepaw and Silverpaw—crossed the stream chasing a rabbit." Amberheart sighed. "They were young, foolish; it can't have been too long since they were apprenticed. They gave up when a ThunderClan border patrol—that was me, Toadstep, Stormbreeze, Runningleap and Ravenpaw—arrived at the scene. The rabbit shot into ThunderClan territory and disappeared from all our thoughts, especially since the apprentices' mentors and a WindClan hunting patrol showed up on the other side of the border."

"Of course, things escalated." Runningleap and Ravenpaw had wandered over, and the lean dark gray, near black tom took over the tale. "Rabbitfur accused us of scaring our apprentices. I retorted that they were on our territory, and by all rights, they had been stealing prey. I sent them back over the border; of course, this upset Rabbitfur greatly. Both she and Leaftail—they're the apprentices' mentors, by the way—objected strongly to the fact that I had just bossed their apprentices about." He sat down stiffly—his shoulder was wrenched.

_Who was in the WindClan patrol, besides the four I've heard so far?_ Owlpaw asked her sister.

Ravenpaw heaved a sigh. "Well, WindClan's deputy, for one—Heathertail. She was the one who mauled Stormbreeze, if you didn't know already. With her was Wingfeather and Ashclaw; more than enough WindClan cats to give us _all _a mauling."

"So I ran back for reinforcements," Runningleap supplied. "I was fortunate enough to run into Cherrypelt's hunting patrol coming down from Triumph Rock, and we set off to the WindClan border. By that time, WindClan and ThunderClan were already locked in a skirmish."

Ravenpaw lifted her chin proudly. "I was fighting both Nettlepaw _and_ Silverpaw at once!" she boasted. "They're green-paws to apprenticeship. I clawed their whiskers off!"

"Winning against two young apprentices is nothing to boast about," Runningleap frowned.

Ravenpaw ducked her head bashfully. "Sorry. But it was exciting, fighting two cats at once."

"We were winning," Amberheart mewed wistfully, "but then Hawkflight's WindClan patrol came running. They were passing by the border and heard the commotion. Then _we_ were the outnumbered ones."

Ravenpaw smirked. "Or we would have been, if not for Skymoon."

_I heard she saved Stormbreeze's life,_ Owlpaw commented. She looked over Ravenpaw's shoulder to the tall dusky-gray warrior; she was sitting beside Toadstep, Foxleap and Cherrypelt, and speaking in hushed voices outside the medicine den. Skymoon seemed totally uninjured.

"You know how Skymoon can change her pelt and go all super-claws on her foes?" Ravenpaw checked. Owlpaw turned back to her sister and nodded, and Ravenpaw mewed, "She did that again. It was how we managed to beat them off, despite being outnumbered."

"She saved most of us from a good clawing from WindClan," Amberheart mewed. "She always got to us just in time. She was moving so fast among us that we hardly saw her paws touch the ground!"

Owlpaw shivered. She'd seen Skymoon's pelt—she'd done it at her warrior ceremony six and a half moons ago. Suddenly her dusky gray fur had dappled, glowing cyan stripes, and she looked like a tiger from those old nursery stories. When she wore her stripes, her Clanmates said, she was sure to win any battle against her.

"She dragged Heathertail right off Stormbreeze," Runningleap mewed. "I'm not surprised she's so strong—she defeated a bear, a monster straight out of a nightmare."

"But Jaggedstep was the one who freed the boulders and actually killed the bear," Ravenpaw reminded him. "Our denmate!" She sounded proud of him.

_But Stormbreeze..._Owlpaw glanced back at the medicine den. Cherrypelt was leaning heavily against Foxleap, whiskers drooping in despair. Skymoon's eyes were turned low to the ground. _She'll be all right, won't she?_

Ravenpaw gave a quiet sigh and pressed herself against Owlpaw. "I don't know, little sister," she murmured. "I just don't know."

Runningleap looked towards the medicine den. "Stormbreeze will pull through," he meowed confidently. "She's tougher than she looks—and her heart's just as wild as a storm's breeze. She was one of the few warriors who faced the bear—so caught up in her battle's fire, she actually scrambled right onto its back and clawed at its head, hissing and spitting like a weasel."

His tail brushed against the flanks of the two sisters. "She'll pull through. She'll be too stubborn to go to StarClan. You'll see."

* * *

The night after the battle was tense for all the Clan. Stormbreeze was still in a critical state and deeply unconscious. "She's lost a lot of blood," said Jayfeather to Owlpaw, as he applied a fresh poultice to her cuts. "She was in deep shock when she came to us. I've applied the necessary medicine—all we have to do now is wait."

Owlpaw hated waiting. The anticipation was just too much. She held to the faint hope that Stormbreeze was a young warrior, fit and strong and determined. She wouldn't let WindClan claws take her to StarClan if a bear couldn't.

"You did very well with the rest of the Clan, however," Jayfeather went on, giving Owlpaw a small nod. "You treated all their wounds promptly and thoroughly. Many cats will sleep in better comfort thanks to your efforts."

Owlpaw ducked her head in acceptance of his praise.

"Now," Jayfeather went on brusquely, "we already have Stormbreeze to tend to, but there are other cats in the Clan who will need their wounds checked regularly over the next few days. Those with torn ears and torn claws won't need a regular poultice, but open scratches will, until they scab over."

Owlpaw nodded. "We've also run out of moss," Jayfeather mewed. "Tomorrow you'll have to go and collect some more. In the meantime, you should get some sleep. I'm going to do some tidying up before I settle down." He padded into the herb store without waiting to see if his apprentice acknowledged his words or not.

Owlpaw stood quietly in the middle of the main den for a few moments. Then she turned around and settled herself beside Stormbreeze. She didn't think she could sleep knowing that her Clanmate wavered between life and death. The new poultices Jayfeather had applied glistened in the halflight.

A cool breeze wafted in through the den walls, and Owlpaw shook up her fur. _Please,_ she prayed, _don't die. So many still need you. Your brothers are terrified._ She'd seen them before. Dustfoot and Whiteblaze hardly touched their fresh-kill, and Larkflight hadn't said a single word since the warriors returned. He'd hovered outside the medicine den until sundown, when Skymoon came and gently led him to the warriors' den.

_And it was Skymoon who saved you,_ Owlpaw remembered, eyes taking in the wounds visible through Stormbreeze's fur. The medicine cat apprentice gave a small sigh and plucked the soft grass beneath her paws. _I wish I'd been there. I can fight as well as Ravenpaw! I could've helped!_

She sighed. _But I'm a medicine cat apprentice. We don't enter battle. We don't take part in a conflict between warriors. We're only there to lick their wounds when they limp home._ She reminded herself of this for perhaps the millionth time.

After a few hours Jayfeather emerged from the herb store and curled up in his nest. Owlpaw, lying restlessly in her own, couldn't sleep. She waited until her mentor's breathing deepened and fell into a sleep pattern, then climbed out of her nest and settled beside Stormbreeze again. The dark gray warrior's breaths were short and shallow...and, worryingly, very faint.

In her first moon of apprenticeship, Foxleap had taken a bad fall from the tree branches and wrenched his shoulder. He'd spent the night in the medicine den. Owlpaw had been worried for the russet-furred warrior and spent half the night continually checking on him. In the end she disturbed Jayfeather, who gave her an irritated and hushed lecture about 'the first night'.

"The first night after a Clanmate receives a serious ailment of some sort is the night that determines if their paws still walk these hunting grounds or StarClan's," he'd said. "Foxleap's injury isn't as serious as some others I'd sat through—a broken leg, an apprentice severely ill with greencough, a broken backbone. I doubt he'll go to StarClan for a wrenched shoulder in the night, so you needn't worry. When you get older, you'll come to judge whether you think a patient will get through the first night or not—when you have doubt, _then_ you're allowed to stay up and fret. Now go back to your nest, and if you get out of it one more time for Foxleap's sake I'll have you cleaning the elders' den for a moon."

Jayfeather never bluffed, so Owlpaw had gone back to her nest and eventually dozed off. Sure enough, Foxleap woke up the next morning, proclaiming that his shoulder was feeling marginally better than yesterday, though Jayfeather confined him to camp for a week to give the wrenched muscles in his limb time to heal.

And as usual, Jayfeather was right; throughout the war with WindClan, and general Clan life, there'd been several nasty cases—Berrynose once spent the night in the medicine den, sick with whitecough. Given his age, it could easily progress to greencough during the night and possibly kill him; but he lived to see another sunrise and the whitecough hadn't inflamed. Seednose had eaten some water hemlock by mistake and struggled through her first night with a dreadful stomachache. Briarlight spent a night in the medicine den when she discovered she had difficulty breathing; Jayfeather actually stayed up from dusk to dawn tending to her. But Owlpaw came to judge whether a cat spending a night in the medicine den was worth staying up overnight worrying for and over, if they would survive their first night.

_Do I worry over Stormbreeze?_ Owlpaw sniffed the young warrior's ear. The faint stench of blood and WindClan clung to her fur. _She's in a bad way. Jayfeather's gone to sleep—surely that means she'll pull through her first night?_

But Stormbreeze was so weak. Owlpaw could hardly hear her breaths, faint and shallow. Her flanks feebly rose up and down with every effort.

_She may not._ The mere thought scared Owlpaw more than anything had before in her life.

She placed a paw on Stormbreeze's neck. The pulse was even fainter than her breathing. _No, no,_ Owlpaw begged silently. _Please, Stormbreeze. Please don't die. Remember the bear? You fought the bear—I didn't see it but Frostshine always did tell me it was a real monster, and she saw it. And Runningleap said that you jumped right onto its head! You were spitting like a weasel, remember? If you didn't let a bear kill you, don't let that mange-fur Heathertail!_

There was no change in Stormbreeze's breath pattern.

Owlpaw fidgeted, fear making her pelt prickle. She couldn't let Stormbreeze stay there all alone. This was her first night. What if her paws were treading a path to StarClan?

Yet drowsiness tugged at her own eyes and made them ache and burn. She had to sleep.

_Well, I'm not sleeping out there while Stormbreeze is in here._ Owlpaw curled up beside Stormbreeze, readily sharing her warmth with the injured ThunderClan warrior. _My instinct says I should not let her out of my sight—if not my sight, then my sense of touch._

Owlpaw placed her head close to Stormbreeze's heart so she could listen to its beat. It was fainter than before. _Come on, Stormbreeze. Your brothers are waiting for you._ Owlpaw closed her eyes, finally succumbing to her weariness.

* * *

Grass tickled Owlpaw's nose. She sneezed and blinked open her eyes.

What she saw made her sit bolt upright in shock. _This isn't the medicine den!_

She was in a strange landscape. It was colourless, but tiny white lights flickered on every blade of grass, every leaf in the surrounding trees. A gentle wind brushed against her fur, but it brought no chill.

Owlpaw turned around. The leaves on the trees all shook more slowly than they ought to have, and the grass rippled with that same bizarre effect. Yet she moved as normally as she did in the waking world.

_The waking world?_ Owlpaw frowned. _Why did I think that?_

_But I have to be dreaming._ She padded forward some more. This definitely wasn't the forest, and she didn't recognize anything near her. _The only question is, what am I dreaming about? I'm still very conscious of my surroundings...that's never happened before..._

Suddenly she heard movement beyond. Owlpaw hurried towards it—a shape darted out from a clump of holly, chasing a small glittering sparrow. Its little wings worked and it twirled up into the sky. The dark shape chasing it slid to a halt with a sigh of frustration.

"There goes another piece of prey."

Owlpaw's ears flicked forward in shock. _Stormbreeze!_ She raced towards the shape, still catching her breath from her missed lunge.

She twisted around and met Owlpaw's eyes with a familiar sparkling green. "Owlpaw!" she exclaimed in puzzled delight. "What are you doing here?"

Owlpaw slowed, then stared in amazement at Stormbreeze. _Your fur...it's...it's whole. You don't have any injuries anymore!_

Stormbreeze furrowed her brow. She looked at her pelt, following Owlpaw's gaze, then looked up in bemusement. "What are you staring at? Do I have a burr in my fur?"

Owlpaw shook her head. As she did, her heart suddenly tightened in dread. _I should know what this place is. It feels...familiar, yet not. Like I'm meant to be here, like I should be here, but Stormbreeze...Stormbreeze shouldn't._

Stormbreeze's ears suddenly flicked to some distant point in the strange sparkly forest. "Hear that?" she whispered, tail whisking to and fro. "Prey! It sounds like a mouse!" Suddenly she was away, leaping into the bushes.

_Don't go!_ Suddenly terrified to let the young warrior out of her sight, Owlpaw hurried after her.

To her surprise, she found herself sprinting through the forest as easily as though she had trained all her life to be a warrior. Stormbreeze raced on, her pace matching Owlpaw's despite the former having longer legs. Suddenly Stormbreeze slid to a halt, and Owlpaw hastened to do the same.

"Shh!" Stormbreeze whispered. She spared Owlpaw a glance, then dropped into a perfect hunting crouch. On swift, silent paws, she crept towards a quivering fern just beyond. Suddenly a little animal burst out from the ferns, just as Stormbreeze was about to spring. Hissing in annoyance, Stormbreeze set off after it.

_Stop!_ Owlpaw cried, bounding after the ThunderClan warrior. _Stop, please!_

Suddenly the trees ended and the edge of a cliff loomed before her paws. Owlpaw slid to a halt, digging her claws tightly into the grass. Beside her, Stormbreeze gave a startled yelp and did the same. The mouse appeared to have vanished.

"Bother. Another mouse gone. What is up with the prey around here?" Stormbreeze huffed, but her voice died as her eyes slid down to the base of the hollow she'd just stumbled upon. Owlpaw could only stare, and the dread in her heart grew stronger.

It wasn't ThunderClan's hollow, but a little gully ringed with smooth silver stone. A crystal-clear pool dominated it, ringed with small, tender green plants. A worn pebbly track wound its way out of the gully on the opposite side. But the gully wasn't unoccupied; starlit spirits prowled the gully, and they looked up the cliff to the two young she-cats who stared into it with wide eyes. Their glittering tails went up and their eyes sparkled like chips of ice.

"What is this?" Stormbreeze whispered. "Who are they?"

She leaned forward over the edge of the cliff. "It's like they're waiting for me." She tipped her head to one side. "That's strange. One of them looks just like Icecloud."

Suddenly her ears flattened and her eyes rounded in fear. "That _is_ Icecloud."

She jerked her head back, and her breaths came sharp and shallow. "Oh, StarClan...I'm _in_ StarClan." She whirled on Owlpaw. "Aren't I? I'm in StarClan, aren't I? And you came to guide me here—see me off."

Owlpaw stared in dismay at Stormbreeze. She didn't even know how to respond. She glanced towards the clear, starlit pool—the Moonpool—and at the spirits who stood around it. A beautiful white she-cat with sparkling blue eyes stood out from the rest, staring up at Stormbreeze with love in her gaze.

Suddenly she felt fur brush her flank. She twisted around to stare into a pair of calm yellow eyes that twinkled with the light of stars. "You needn't fear, little one," he said. His voice was strange and unfamiliar.

Stormbreeze blinked at him in confusion. "Who are you?" she asked. "Have you come to guide me to StarClan?"

The newcomer was a small brown tom with friendly yellow eyes. His tufted pelt shimmered with stars. To Stormbreeze, he answered, "Your path does not lead here yet, young warrior. Your companion is here to guide you home."

"Her name's Owlpaw," said Stormbreeze, gazing at the StarClan cat in awe.

"Owlpaw." The strange tom turned and nodded once to Owlpaw. "Lovely to meet you, but you have been here long enough. The first night is ending, and dawn is coming to your world. Lead her home."

Owlpaw slowly nodded, but fear suddenly sparked in her heart. _But I don't know the way._

To her surprise, the spirit purred with laughter. "Look into your heart, little one; it can never lead you wrong."

_He _heard_ me! _Owlpaw gaped at him. _He understood me!_

"You do not need a voice to speak in StarClan," the tom said. He nodded once to her. "Go, young Owlpaw. Lead her home."

Owlpaw nodded. She gestured to Stormbreeze and led her away from the edge of the Moonpool gully, back towards the starry forest. Stormbreeze followed, wearing a perplexed expression, but she turned back and waved her tail to the mysterious brown tom.

With a small purr, he raised his own. _Who is he?_ Owlpaw wondered. He didn't even smell like ThunderClan, but of windswept trees and stone. _If he's not a ThunderClan ancestor, then who?_

But it didn't seem to matter, not now. Owlpaw stepped into the peaceful forest, Stormbreeze at her side. Together, they left StarClan's fields of paradise far behind them, finding their way back to the waking world.

* * *

"Owlpaw!" Jayfeather's shocked mew jolted Owlpaw awake.

She scrambled upright, heart racing—bracken and moss crunched under her paws, and Stormbreeze lay behind her. Woven brambles stretched all around and over her head. _I'm back,_ she thought with relief, only to meet the angry blind blue eyes of her mentor.

"What were you doing?" he growled.

Owlpaw fumbled for some answer. _I..._

Sunlight was starting to spill into the hollow outside; thin tendrils snaked their way into the medicine den, forming puddles of light on the soft ground. It must be early morning. Which meant...

_The first night! Stormbreeze!_ Owlpaw turned her gaze from her mentor to her patient. To her astonishment, Stormbreeze's breathing was stronger and clearer, and she looked more comfortable than she had before, as though she'd stirred a bit in her sleep. She placed a paw against Stormbreeze's heart; it beat strongly beneath her fur.

_She survived._ Owlpaw sagged with relief. _She didn't go to StarClan._

"Owlpaw?" Jayfeather's voice was full of confusion now. That, and caution.

Owlpaw hesitated. How would she explain this to him? That she went to StarClan, somehow, and led her Clanmate home? That she actually spoke to a real StarClan spirit?

Suddenly Jayfeather whispered, "I know that smell." He leaned close and sniffed Owlpaw's fur. "That's the scent of the stars." He jerked back as though stung by a wasp, and his eyes were very wide. "You went to StarClan with Stormbreeze, didn't you?"

Owlpaw gaped at him. _How'd he know?_

"Didn't you?" Jayfeather pressed. His voice had suddenly become a low growl.

Owlpaw quickly nodded. She longed to say, _But I don't know how; one moment I was sleeping and the next I was running through StarClan, and I met a strange tomcat with tufty brown fur and an even stranger scent, and there were all these cats by the Moonpool and I think one of them was Icecloud..._ But of course she couldn't, so she settled for an impatient tail lash.

Jayfeather gave a frustrated sigh. "If only you could speak," he muttered quietly, but Owlpaw heard him nonetheless. Raising his voice, her mentor demanded, "What happened there? Was Stormbreeze there, too?"

Owlpaw nodded. _Chasing mice and sparrows and any other piece of prey she found there—but she didn't catch any._

"Then what?" Jayfeather was pacing now. He seemed to be growing more agitated every passing heartbeat. "Were you in some kind of forest, maybe? Some part of StarClan?"

Owlpaw nodded. _He speaks as if he's been there before,_ she thought, then froze. _He has powers—or used to, by the way he speaks of them now. He was closer to StarClan than any other medicine cat. Is it possible...?_

"And you and Stormbreeze wound up looking into the borders of StarClan." Jayfeather wasn't even asking questions anymore. Owlpaw had never seen her mentor looked so shocked. "And they told you to bring her home."

_One did. One I didn't recognize._ Owlpaw nodded.

"Great StarClan..." Jayfeather leaned back on his haunches and went very quiet.

After a moment, he murmured, "And you were successful, I take it."

Owlpaw nodded. _You can tell she's stronger,_ she thought. _Her breathing, her position..._

She lifted her chin, all of a sudden filled with pride as she gazed upon her sleeping Clanmate. _I did it. I helped Stormbreeze through the first night—and she's going to live. She isn't going to die._ She quietly exhaled in relief.

Suddenly the medicine den's entrance rustled, and Owlpaw's attention was immediately drawn to the large golden tabby pushing his way through into the main den. She was on her paws at once. _Lionstar? What's he doing here so early?_

"Need me?" Jayfeather asked, turning to his brother.

"Just a little." Lionstar's gaze flashed to Stormbreeze. "How is she? Did she make it?"

"Yes, she made it," Jayfeather mewed, "under very mysterious circumstances."

Owlpaw uneasily flicked her tail. Would Jayfeather tell? But the gray tabby gave no immediate indication that he'd said something odd. "She won't be back for warrior duties for at least a moon, if that's what you're here about," he said, his usual grumpy nature restored.

"No, not that." Lionstar turned back to his brother. "I was thinking about making Sunkit and Redkit apprentices today."

Jayfeather's tailtip flicked in surprise. "Today? They're not quite six moons old yet."

"I know, but they're large and strong enough to become apprentices." Lionstar curled his tabby tail over his forepaws. "I've run the matter through with Aura. She agrees with me. They should be made apprentices today."

Jayfeather frowned. "Told you to make them apprentices, more like."

Owlpaw's ears flicked forward with surprise. _Redkit and Sunkit are going to be apprenticed today? That's great! My littermates will have some new denmates before the day is out._

"But I want your say on the matter," Lionstar went on. He twitched an ear uneasily. "What do you think? Should they be made apprentices? I'd like them to come to the upcoming Gathering."

Jayfeather frowned. "Any...particular reason?"

"No. But Aura wanted them there." Lionstar glanced at Owlpaw, then added in a low whisper to his brother, "She thinks it has something to do with Skymoon's destiny."

Owlpaw's attention instantly sharpened. _Skymoon's destiny? What's he on about?_

Jayfeather snorted. "Don't bother keeping your voice low," he muttered. "Owlpaw's hearing is just as sharp as her namesake—she could hear you if you spoke on a breath. Besides, I think she has a part to play in all this as well."

Lionstar's bright amber eyes instantly focused on Owlpaw's. "Why? What happened?" he demanded.

"I think it better if we speak outside," Jayfeather growled, jerking his head to the entrance of his den, "and with the others. They'll probably want to hear this."

And just like that, the two brothers left the den without another word.

Owlpaw stared in absolute disbelief after them. _What in the name of StarClan were they talking about?_

Suddenly Stormbreeze coughed. Owlpaw glanced at her. The dark gray warrior was opening tired green eyes.

_She's awake!_ At once Owlpaw was at her side, all thoughts about destiny and StarClan moved to the back of her mind. Stormbreeze gave a soft groan and pushed her head back onto her bedding.

"What happened?" she slurred drowsily. "I hurt _everywhere_. Where's Larkflight? Did we win?"

Owlpaw didn't attempt an answer—Stormbreeze's eyes were closed, and she wasn't good at recognizing the apprentice's body language anyway. Unable to offer words of comfort, she sat beside Stormbreeze and rhythmically swept her tail up and down the gray warrior's flanks. It wasn't much, but the movement did comfort Stormbreeze, who gave a soft sigh and dozed off.

On the edges of her hearing, Owlpaw heard Jayfeather and Lionstar emerge from the warriors' den. Two sets of pawsteps followed them. Another set joined them, padding across the clearing. Then, on an unspoken signal, the five cats quietly slipped out of the camp and into the forest.

* * *

Lionstar's call thrummed through the hollow. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting."

It was sunhigh and the ThunderClan camp was full of activity. Even the medicine den was busy. Stormbreeze had officially woken up, been visited by her friends and family, eaten two mice and was sitting up her nest, peering impatiently through the brambles to try and get a glimpse of the ceremony.

"This is a _terrible_ spot," she announced to nobody in particular. "Can't I go outside? Please?" She turned with imploring eyes to Owlpaw.

_No. Jayfeather said you can't._ Owlpaw shook her head.

"Oh, come _on_, Owlpaw!" Stormbreeze shifted from paw to paw and pushed her nose up against the woven brambles. "I'm not missing this—Sunkit and Redkit aren't going to be made apprentices again!"

Jayfeather returned into the medicine den. Some fresh marigold was gathered in his jaws. He set them on the ground near his paws and replied tartly to Stormbreeze, "You quite literally were prowling the borders of StarClan last night, and you want to get up and about so quickly? Not on my watch."

Stormbreeze hissed in frustration. "But I want to _see!_"

Owlpaw turned to Jayfeather. _She does seem strong enough,_ she pointed out.

"I don't care if you think she's strong enough," Jayfeather growled. With a flick of his tail, he swept the marigold across the den. "_I'm_ the qualified medicine cat here, remember, and I say Stormbreeze stays put."

Owlpaw struggled to keep her paws still. _What about me?_ she inquired as innocently as she could.

Jayfeather snorted at the expectant look on his apprentice's face. "I haven't given you any orders to stay behind, have I?" he remarked. "Or maybe I should, since this marigold isn't going to sort itself."

_But the ceremony!_ Owlpaw could hear ThunderClan massing together outside. They'd almost all come together now. Sunkit and Redkit were being hastily groomed by their mother one last time in the nursery—their shrill, protesting squeaks could be heard even from the medicine den. _I can't miss this—Sunkit and Redkit were once my denmates!_

Stormbreeze suddenly gave a very sharp, angry sigh. "You can't keep us both penned up in here like naughty kits," she reprimanded. "One of us will have to go."

Jayfeather shrugged. "There's no _have to_ about it."

"Jayfeather, stop being such a stubborn old furball and let Owlpaw go and see it." There was a hard, commanding note to Stormbreeze's voice that warned she was not about to be trifled with. "You can't moan about her not doing anything around here—she just went out to collect moss this morning."

Owlpaw nodded emphatically.

"Hmph." Jayfeather gave a quick, lazy stretch, then said, "Fine. Off you go. Tell me who they're going to be apprenticed to when you come back, will you?" But there was an indifferent note to Jayfeather's voice that suggested he already knew who the kits' mentors would be.

_Whatever. Everyone in the world has bees in their brains._ Waving a quick farewell, Owlpaw hurried out of the medicine den and into the clearing.

Nearly every cat had gathered under Highledge by now, and all the good spots were taken. Owlpaw stood at the back and quietly fumed, lashing her tail. She couldn't see anything from here.

"Hey, Owlpaw! Over here!"

Owlpaw angled her senses towards the speaker. _Graypaw!_ The large gray tom was beckoning frantically to her, and she hurriedly bounded over to him.

"Here," he whispered, gesturing to a bit of earth at the front of the crowd at his side. "We saved you a seat."

"You get a good view," Ravenpaw added, greeting her sister with a friendly lick over the ear.

"Shh!" Clawpaw, on Graypaw's other side, already had his pale blue eyes focused on the nursery. "Redkit and Sunkit are coming out!"

Owlpaw leaned around a few ThunderClan warriors, peering towards the nursery. Sure enough, two small bundles of fur, one golden tabby, the other russet, were climbing out of the nursery, their pelts gleaming and freshly groomed. Thrushsong emerged just behind them, contentment gleaming in her eyes.

Since the kits' father wasn't present to lead his kits to the ceremony, it was Yellownose who greeted and led them. He touched his strange pale nose to his nephew's and niece's muzzles, then turned and led the way to the soft grassy space beneath Highledge and beneath full eyes of the Clan. Redkit and Sunkit trotted after him, heads held high and excitement shimmering in their eyes. The elders, Owlpaw noticed, were watching them keenly—especially Squirrelflight.

"Look at them," Ravenpaw whispered, sounding amused. "We must've looked just the same when we came out of the nursery to our ceremony, Moleclaw leading the way."

Owlpaw remembered Hollythorn's frantic grooming shortly after Lionstar had given the summoning call—she'd had her fur hurriedly washed beneath her mother's tongue, and the same fate had befallen all her littermates. Still, Hollythorn was good at grooming her kits—they'd looked wonderful when they padded to Highledge, fur all glossy and shining in the newleaf sunlight.

Yellownose went and sat down in the crowd. Sunkit and Redkit, looking a bit nervous now, stood alone in the clearing, their little heads craned back to meet Lionstar's eyes.

The ThunderClan leader didn't delay. "Cats of ThunderClan," he began, "we are gathered here to celebrate the making of new apprentices." For a moment, his gaze drifted to Thrushsong's, and his eyes shone with delight. Thrushsong looked happier than she'd been in many moons.

"These kits have reached their sixth moon," he went on, "and are ready to be made apprentices of ThunderClan."

Owlpaw looked around, trying to figure out who their mentors were. Didn't they usually sit near the front of the crowd, so they could meet their new apprentices quickly? But there were lots of cats at the front of the crowd—off to one side, she spotted Skymoon watching the kits through narrowed eyes. Aura, Larkflight and Ferndust sat beside her, ears pricked, eyes bright.

_Perhaps Yellownose will mentor one of his brother's kits?_ Owlpaw wondered briefly. Her gaze drifted to the gray warrior with the curious pale nose. _He's certainly old, strong and wise enough to mentor an apprentice._

"Redkit, step forward," said Lionstar. Redkit did so, russet fur bushed up with excitement.

"From this moment, until you receive your warrior name, you will be Redpaw." The new-named apprentice's eyes widened with joy, and she twisted around to try and see where her new mentor was. Lionstar, stifling an amused purr, didn't waste any time.

"Runningleap." The lean gray-black tom stepped from the crowd, chin high and fur groomed to sleek perfection. Redpaw's eyes widened in delight. "Redpaw will be your first apprentice," Lionstar went on, "but you are a warrior of great skill and wisdom. Train her well in the ways of our noble code."

Runningleap dipped his head to Lionstar, then leaned down to touch noses with his new apprentice. Owlpaw saw his eyes shone with just as much excitement as Redpaw's. The pair then stepped back. Sunkit stood alone beneath Highledge, but he didn't seem afraid. He seemed he could hardly sit still.

"Sunkit," Lionstar mewed, "until you receive your warrior name, you will be Sunpaw." Then he turned to his new mentor, and a collective gasp rose up from every cat in ThunderClan.

"Skymoon."

Owlpaw's eyes widened in amazement. _What?_

Skymoon walked forward, her face expressionless, and stopped beneath Highledge. "Sunpaw will also be your first apprentice," Lionstar meowed, looking between his grandson and the new mentor. "But you are more than ready to train him, given your accomplishments in the past. May you teach him all that you know."

Skymoon wordlessly dipped her head, then turned to Sunpaw. Owlpaw saw, to her further amazement, that her eyes were wary and guarded. _What's going through her head? She's receiving her first apprentice—surely she'd be a bit happier about that?_

She slowly shook her head. _Skymoon definitely has bees in her brain._

The whole Clan watched as Skymoon leaned forward to touch noses with Sunpaw, accepting him as her apprentice. She seemed indifferent to the steady chanting that filled the air as she stepped back.

"Redpaw! Sunpaw! Redpaw! Sunpaw!"

* * *

**A/N: I'm going to estimate that roughly half of you expected Skymoon to be made Sunpaw's mentor...am I right? Prove me wrong - tell me that ALL of you expected it! Ahh, the angst! Now how's Skymoon going to deal with this awkward situation?**

**Next time, chapter seven: The Spark. Things are finally getting interesting for young Owlpaw...**


	7. The Spark

Chapter Seven

THE SPARK

* * *

"Reach higher with your claws, Owlpaw! That way you'll be able to push Graypaw backwards if he tries to jump onto your back!"

Owlpaw's muscles were aching, but she didn't complain or make her discomfort known; she rose up on her hind legs and shoved forward with her forepaws. Graypaw, mid-leap, was shoved awkwardly to the side, and his graceful lunge was broken in a heartbeat.

Owlpaw dropped back into a defensive crouch and eyed her brother cautiously. At the edge of the training area, Lionstar looked on with all the apprentices and their mentors beside him. Graypaw's mentor, Hazeltail, stood nearby. Her muzzle was tinged silver from age, but her eyes were still sharp and clear as though she were a young cat.

"If you get knocked aside, make sure you land on your four paws evenly," she mewed. "That way you won't get winded and your paws won't hurt, meaning weaker blows and less agility."

Graypaw spared his mentor a nod. "I'll do my best."

It'd been a few days since Redpaw and Sunpaw had been apprenticed, and most of the warriors involved in the dangerous skirmish at the WindClan border were back to their normal duties. Stormbreeze, however, was still confined to the medicine den, though Jayfeather occasionally permitted her to go outside and lie in the sun.

She and Owlpaw had become fast friends—and since her first night, Owlpaw had been teaching Stormbreeze how to recognize her body language. Ravenpaw had helped a couple of times, translating more complex movements for Stormbreeze to understand and memorize.

Owlpaw took a deep breath. She savoured these days, when she could touch up on her fighting skills. No mixing poultices, no sorting through herbs, no changing stinky bedding or applying salves to wounds—only the fresh air, the soft grassy clearing where the apprentices trained, and the heat of the moment, where she'd have to rely on her instinct and reflexes than her mind and memory.

_This is the life I might have led, if I hadn't been born a mute._ Not for the first time, her thoughts drifted back to Hookclaw. _Perhaps I'll see him again at the Gathering in a few nights!_ she thought. _I'll get Ravenpaw to meet him, too. He's not as creepy as he looks!_

Graypaw suddenly leapt towards her. Owlpaw twisted out of his way. When his forepaws came around in a vicious counter, she ducked and thrust her weight against Graypaw's exposed chest. The gray tom gasped with surprise and took a step backwards.

"Nice one, Owlpaw!" Redpaw cheered.

"Go, medicine cat!" Sunpaw added.

Owlpaw's whiskers twitched at her supporters' words, and she spared the two new apprentices a glance. They weren't allowed to take part in the fighting—they hadn't even had a proper training session with their mentors yet—though they were permitted to observe from the side, picking up on the tips and advice experienced warriors threw out, and watching how the older, more experienced apprentices performed each different move.

"Half-turn belly rake!" Hazeltail cried. Graypaw suddenly vanished from view.

"Dodge!" Lionstar commanded. Owlpaw's body was moving long before the order had even processed in her mind. Graypaw's paws beat only against Owlpaw's belly fur, missing the skin. "Counter!" Lionstar ordered. As Graypaw scrambled to his paws Owlpaw dropped onto him, seized his scruff in her teeth and shook him as hard as she could.

But her brother, though younger than her, was stronger and heavier, and wasn't as affected by the scruff shake as another might have been. He pushed up from the ground, knocking his head hard against Owlpaw's jaw. She jumped backwards, jaw throbbing. Graypaw scrambled onto his paws.

"The bout's over," said Lionstar, and both apprentices fell at ease. The ThunderClan leader turned to the apprentices who hadn't taken part in the bout. "Given what you've just seen," he mewed, "what were their strengths and weaknesses—and what was the downfall of the latest moves each performed?"

Clawpaw's tail immediately shot up. "Yes, Clawpaw?" asked Lionstar.

"Graypaw's larger and stronger than Owlpaw," Clawpaw said at once, "but Owlpaw's much lighter on her feet and nimbler."

"Good." Dewclaw nodded to his apprentice. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Clawpaw replied promptly, sounding as though he'd rehearsed this all before. "Because of Graypaw's bigger and heavier stature, he wasn't as affected by Owlpaw's last move, the scruff shake. It gave him time to perform the counter-scruff shake, which is to push up from the ground and jolt your body against an enemy's jaw."

"Excellent," said Dewclaw, satisfied, but he added teasingly, "But don't forget to give your sister a chance to reply, too."

Clawpaw's eartip twitched. "Ravenpaw should've been quicker, then."

Ravenpaw narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Owlpaw," she mewed, "was able to accurately predict Graypaw's move. He gives too much of his intentions away and doesn't move fast enough to perform the maneuver to its fullest ferocity. Owlpaw easily dodged the move because she's light and swift on her paws."

Blossomfall flashed Dewclaw a smug look. "How's that?"

"Impressive," said Dewclaw, whiskers twitching. "Still, Clawpaw knows battle tactics like his pelt. I wouldn't be surprised if he could beat Lionstar here and now. He's almost as big as him."

Lionstar twitched an ear. "I'll be the judge of that," he mewed. He turned to Redpaw and Sunpaw. "Did you hear that? Are you remembering that? This is valuable advice that you could use in the future."

Redpaw solemnly nodded. "Great agility can be met and matched with great strength," she mewed. "The half-turn belly rake is ineffective against a very agile opponent, unless caught off-guard."

Lionstar looked surprised. "Very good!" he praised. "You _have_ been paying attention." Redpaw blushed with pride.

"She's always been a thinker," Runningleap purred, giving Redpaw a gentle nudge with his shoulder. "She'll grow up to be a very wise and clever warrior some day." Redpaw ducked her head.

"And you, Sunpaw?" Lionstar turned to the small golden tabby sitting near his sister. "What did you pick up?"

Sunpaw hesitated. "Um..."

Skymoon leaned close. "Their body movements," she murmured quietly into his ear. Immediately Owlpaw checked her eyes. _Still expressionless. What is _up_ with her?_ "What did you see? What pattern did you notice?"

Sunpaw frowned only for a moment longer. "When Graypaw went low," he began hesitantly, "with...with the...belly half thing..."

"Half-turn belly rake," Redpaw supplied kindly.

"Yeah, that," Sunpaw mumbled. "When Graypaw did that, when he went low to the ground, Owlpaw went up."

Owlpaw gave him an encouraging nod. "When they were sparring paw to paw," Sunpaw went on, a little less nervously than before, "they stood at even height, and they mirrored each other's movements."

Lionstar nodded. "Very good, Sunpaw. Those are good instinctive positions that you've noticed."

_Sunpaw has always trusted his instinct above his brains and brawn,_ Owlpaw thought. _One day they'll serve him well in the future._

But her heart felt heavy as she looked between Skymoon and Sunpaw. Something uneasy existed between those two. Runningleap and Redpaw had quickly formed the common bond that was forged between mentor and apprentice; the same friendship that thrived between Hazeltail and Graypaw, Dewclaw and Clawpaw, Blossomfall and Ravenpaw, even herself and Jayfeather. There couldn't possibly be a better, wiser mentor to teach her all about the secrets of the herb and medicinal arts.

But Skymoon...she didn't seem to _want_ to connect to Sunpaw. It was as though something was holding her back. Sunpaw was friendly enough—he was friendly to _everyone_, though it was taking some time for him to become as confident and headstrong as he had been when he was a carefree kit—but sometimes Owlpaw overheard him confessing to Redpaw that he didn't understand why she and her mentor got on so well when his seemed so..._cold_.

_Skymoon's very young,_ Owlpaw remembered. _She's only been a warrior six moons. Maybe she's taking some time getting used to having an apprentice._ Runningleap, in stark contrast, was acting as though he'd spent his entire life teaching apprentices. _He truly is a son of Bramblestar._

An auburn leaf spiraled lazily in front of her nose. Without thinking she reached up a muddy white paw to bat at it.

_This isn't good for Jayfeather._ Owlpaw glanced at the nearby trees. Spots of orange could be seen amidst the boughs of deep green. _Or for any other medicine at of the lake. Leaf-fall has begun, and we're low on herbs. The war hasn't lessened any more, either—there'll be more injuries all through leaf-fall and leaf-bare._

Owlpaw sighed. _Even on my rare few days I can imagine I'm a warrior's apprentice, my mind's still caught up in the medicine den. Am I becoming so preoccupied with my apprenticeship that I'm starting to forget my mindless love for learning how to defend myself?_

_It probably won't be long before I'm as addled in the head as Jayfeather—always fussing about herbs and drying mallow leaves in the sun._

"Skymoon and I were thinking we could teach Redpaw and Sunpaw a few simple defense moves," Runningleap mewed to Lionstar. His voice snapped Owlpaw out of her thoughts. "With a war between us and WindClan, it'd put my mind at ease if I knew that the two youngest apprentices can defend themselves appropriately."

Skymoon nodded and said nothing. Her eyes had a thoughtful, blank expression in them. It was as though she wasn't really interested in anything that was going on.

Owlpaw struggled not to gape openly at her. _How could she be so heartless? Not even Jayfeather's ever been as disinterested in my training as she is with Sunpaw!_

"Yay!" Redpaw skipped into the clearing, and Sunpaw sprang from Skymoon's side to follow her.

"Oh, this should be good," Ravenpaw chuckled as Owlpaw sat down beside her sister. "Two green-paws squalling it out with their mentors."

_Don't push it,_ Owlpaw teased, shoving against her sister. _You were just like that in the beginning._

"Was not!" Ravenpaw said indignantly.

_Was too,_ Owlpaw smirked.

The fur prickled uneasily along her shoulders, and she instinctively glanced towards the cat who was watching her. _Skymoon._ The dusky-gray warrior was staring at the both of them; something that verged between fear and awe seemed to flicker in her gaze. But as Owlpaw's gaze met hers, Skymoon quickly looked away, already focused in teaching Sunpaw the battle crouch.

_I wonder what she wanted,_ Owlpaw mused._ Still, she's always staring at me and Ravenpaw these days, almost like she's waiting for something._

She watched Sunpaw and Redpaw practice the battle crouch, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her thoughts had drifted, back to the time only a few days ago, on the morning Sunpaw and Redpaw left the nursery to become apprentices. _When I walked in StarClan. When I guided Stormbreeze back from the edges of death._ She glanced uneasily at Lionstar. _When Jayfeather discovered I had, he told Lionstar...who told three others. Since that moment, my mentor, leader, Skymoon and Dovewing have all been staring at me a bit strangely._

_They must have been the two warriors._ Owlpaw recollected the two sets of pawsteps emerging from the warriors' den. _And the fifth...probably Aura._

She lashed her tail once. _But _she_ has had the decency not to gawk at me. She's just interested in Sunpaw's and Redpaw's training—and mine and my littermates, too. They're almost ready to have their warrior assessments, and Jayfeather trusts me more and more to tend to the cats who are sick or injured in his place..._

Owlpaw saw Sunpaw do a perfect battle spring straight onto Redpaw. The dark russet she-cat emitted a startled shriek and immediately struggled under her brother's broad paws. Runningleap told her to do something, and suddenly Sunpaw was left on his back and blinking grit out of his eyes, Redpaw standing free of his clutches.

"A very good evasive move, Redpaw," Lionstar praised. "You'll find that what you just did there will throw off most opponents who grasp you like that—but only if they're your size or smaller. Any bigger or heavier, and the move won't work to its full effectiveness, or not at all."

"I'll keep that in mind," Redpaw mewed breathlessly.

"So will I!" Sunpaw declared, rolling back onto his paws and shaking out his rumpled tabby fur.

Owlpaw suddenly realized that Skymoon wasn't just watching her apprentice with a bleak, thoughtless look in her eyes—they were suddenly sharp and full of attention. Her gaze flicked continuously between brother and sister. _She is one strange cat,_ Owlpaw thought, with a small shake of the head.

Ravenpaw noticed the small movement. "What is it?"

Owlpaw shrugged. _It doesn't matter._

Blossomfall turned to Lionstar. "Perhaps we could leave these two to practice their battle crouches and leaps," she mewed. "But we could take the rest of the apprentices into the forest and do patrol practice."

Owlpaw's ears flicked up, and her littermates exchanged thrilled glances.

Lionstar slowly nodded. "It'll provide good experience for them if they're practicing ambushing from the forest floor," he mewed. He glanced at Owlpaw. "This is your first time doing patrol practice, isn't it?"

Owlpaw nodded. _But I won't let you down!_

Blossomfall narrowed her eyes. "I don't know, Lionstar...a medicine cat, taking part in patrol practice? This is not normal medicine cat training."

"I'm well aware of that, but Owlpaw's fighting skills are exceptional for a medicine cat," Lionstar replied certainly. Owlpaw's fur tingled with the praise and she looked at her paws. "I think she can give the patrol practice a trying out."

"Have faith in her!" Ravenpaw put in, flicking her tail along Blossomfall's dappled tortoiseshell flanks. "Owlpaw takes everyone by surprise on a regular basis. She'll do it again today in patrol practice! Just watch her."

Blossomfall's whiskers twitched. "I wasn't about to argue with _you_, Ravenpaw."

"Good." Ravenpaw lifted her chin, but her eyes glinted with play. She glanced at Owlpaw. "So how about it, little sister? Do you want to give patrol practice a go?"

Owlpaw nodded. _This might be my only chance actually on a battlefield. I'd be mad to say no!_

"Perhaps this could be the apprentices' battle assessment," Dewclaw suggested. "Part of it, perhaps. It'll be a test of how well they work together." He looked closely at Clawpaw. "I expect big things out of you, young tom."

Clawpaw puffed out his chest. "I won't let you down!" he promised.

"Assessment? Today?" Graypaw's fur bushed out with shock. "But I'm not ready! I wasn't warned!"

"Oh, stop." Hazeltail flicked her tail along her apprentice's shoulders. "You're more than ready, mouse-brain. Use those hunting techniques I've taught you—you'll be the Gray Terror of the forest!"

"Hmm...Gray Terror." Graypaw tested the name. "I like it. Lionstar, can that be my warrior name?"

Ravenpaw and Clawpaw groaned. The older cats _mrrow_ed with amusement.

"We'll have to see how well you do in the patrol practice, won't we?" Lionstar replied, a purr still rumbling in his throat. He looked between the four apprentices and mewed, "Since this is an assessment, you will be in pairs and no warrior will help you." He turned to Owlpaw. "I understand that you haven't taken part in a patrol practice before. It's essentially how well you follow orders, as well as a bit of what you've learned fighting."

Owlpaw nodded importantly and stood as straight as she could. _I won't let _anyone_ down with my inexperience!_ she promised.

"Ravenpaw, you can be with Clawpaw," said Lionstar, looking between them. "Graypaw, you're with Owlpaw. It only seems fair to have teams of brother and sister, is it not?"

Ravenpaw fidgeted. "Lionstar, if I may," she mewed hesitantly, "I'd...I'd rather be with Owlpaw."

Across the clearing, Skymoon looked up, but Owlpaw hardly noticed. Her heart was pounding so fast in her chest. _If I could have a patrol practice with my sister...please, Lionstar, say yes!_

"Really?" Lionstar asked. "Why is that?"

"Owlpaw and I work best when we are together," Ravenpaw explained without pause. "We know each other—we can predict each other's movements, know by sense if one of us is in danger, and when we fight there's nobody more dangerous than the pair of us!" She puffed out her chest, and the white dash beneath her throat stood out all the more clearly against the black. "We've had plenty of practice against our brothers, both in the nursery and out of it!"

Lionstar looked thoughtful. "So wouldn't it be a challenge of skill if you were on the opposing teams?"

"Not really, Lionstar," Clawpaw put in. He stood beside Graypaw. "Because Ravenpaw and Owlpaw are so close, I've had to become close to Graypaw—so we can survive if we're assaulted by our sisters. They're pretty dangerous when they're together, but Graypaw and I have learned to fight just as well when we're one, too."

"One two?" Graypaw teased. "That's an interesting number." Clawpaw cuffed him.

"It'd be strange for us to be separated to brother and sister teams," Ravenpaw mewed earnestly to Lionstar. "I think we'd much prefer it if we could fight sister against brother."

Owlpaw quickly nodded, as did her brothers. _Ravenpaw's right. Come on, I know you've seen us play! Let it be shown again in a much more important scenario!_

"What do you think?" Blossomfall turned to Hazeltail and Dewclaw. "Should we let them decide their own teams?"

"Seems like they'll be at their best performance if they do," Dewclaw admitted. "Besides, they each have their own strengths. Clawpaw's a dark tabby tom full of endurance and natural battle talent."

"Graypaw can follow a scent trail from one side of the forest to the other," Hazeltail added. "And his hunting crouch is perfection."

"Ravenpaw makes good choices, and her judgement's flawless in combat," Blossomfall mewed. "And from what we've seen of Owlpaw, I think the sisters will make a pretty lethal team."

"So be it." Lionstar nodded to the forest. "Rules are simple; one team goes ahead, and the next team follows. The first team that leaves is the defending team—the second, the invading. If the invading team reaches the Sky Oak, they win. If the defending team defeats the invading, then they win. Claws unsheathed." Owlpaw shivered in sudden anticipation. She didn't fancy coming back to Jayfeather looking as though she'd tried to take on a WindClan hunting patrol.

"But no serious wounds," said Dewclaw sternly. "All battle moves are permitted, which involves treetop fighting. We'll be watching from the shadows."

"Fight fair and clean, and rely on wit and skill to succeed," Blossomfall mewed. "And good luck, all of you."

Owlpaw's paws tingled. This was it—her first real patrol practice, and her first ever bout with claws unsheathed! Then she looked at her littermates—all she could see in their eyes was solemn anxiety. _This is their battle assessment,_ she remembered. _Their performance today determines if they will become warriors. To me, it's just another bout, more experience, an opportunity to see and feel how real warriors fight._

She glanced towards Redpaw and Sunpaw. They were still practicing their battle crouch, though they'd improved. Their weight was more evenly distributed, and their pounces were more accurate.

She also saw that Skymoon was watching her again—and something flashed in her dark blue eyes. Something bordering between alarm and thoughtfulness. _She knows something, _Owlpaw realized with a shiver. _But she doesn't know what to make of me just yet. Has Jayfeather told her about my...my dreaming into StarClan? About Stormbreeze?_

"Ravenpaw, Owlpaw," said Lionstar, and Skymoon turned away. "You're on defense. Go!"

Ravenpaw vanished from the clearing. Owlpaw turned away from Skymoon, quickly sprang to her paws and shot after her sister. She could make out her white-tipped tail flashing in the forest shadows just beyond.

_And for today..._Owlpaw pushed harder into the ground, propelling her forward. _Just for today, perhaps only today, I'm not a medicine cat apprentice who can't speak. I'm a warrior, swift and silent, dangerous and determined. Just for today, my paws walk in a world my sister and brothers will walk in for the rest of their lives. A world I will never walk in again._

* * *

Soon Ravenpaw stopped. Owlpaw did the same, but she was breathless. Trying to breathe as quietly as she could, in case their brothers were nearby, she turned expectantly to her sister.

_Where are we?_

Ravenpaw frowned. "About halfway between the Sky Oak and the clearing," she murmured.

They looked around. Sunrays shone through the tree branches, illuminating the forest in a gentle glow. It looked like a perfect day to go hunting—and a perfect day to dry mallow leaves in the sun, Owlpaw added ruefully. Jayfeather probably would have a fresh damp patch waiting for her back in the hollow.

_If I have to dry another clump of mallow leaves, it'll be too soon._

"We should probably get off the ground," Ravenpaw mewed. She nodded to the upper canopy, still heavily shrouded in leaves. "Up there, in the birch trees. We can use the branches to navigate our way through the forest. Our brothers might be trying to trick us."

She gave a small purr. "But we have a secret."

Owlpaw gave a quick nod, though she had a bellyful of doubt. They hadn't tried using their curious link for battle purposes before. Would it still work?

_Surely it must,_ she reasoned._ We've used it to eavesdrop on warrior conversations heaps of times. It'll just be a little different, that's all. We're adapting it to an ambushing situation._

"We'll split up," Ravenpaw whispered. "You head towards the old Thunderpath. If you see our brothers, show me your location and I'll come running. I'll do the same with you."

Owlpaw nodded, though as she slipped into the undergrowth and scrambled up the nearest tree, she felt significantly nervous about possibly facing her brothers on her own, for however short a time.

Some tree branches were still young, new growth after the great fire that swept through the territory; but many of the limbs in the upper canopies had managed to escape the brunt of the inferno, and were still strong enough for a full-grown warrior to walk over. The younger branches could perhaps just manage a small medicine cat apprentice. Taking care not to linger too long on the juvenile boughs, Owlpaw bounded from tree to tree. She remembered heading to the old Thunderpath a few times, on her way to the abandoned Twoleg nest to check on Jayfeather's catmint supply—it was one of the few locations in the forest she knew by memory.

A blackbird suddenly screeched an alarm call and took flight out of the trees. Shocked, Owlpaw nearly slid from the branches and fall to the forest floor. She dug her claws in and held on, tail lashing and rattling against nearby twigs.

_Stupid, stupid,_ she chided angrily as she steadied herself. _If Clawpaw and Graypaw didn't hear that, then they'd have to be deaf!_ She quickly ceased her tail movement and the leaves stopped rattling behind her. _Wonderful. I might have just given my location away. Hookclaw wouldn't be pleased with you for that noise!_

She stiffened, bemused. _Now why did I just think of him?_

Perhaps because she was trying to be silent—something that the ShadowClan deputy had said come so naturally to her, that would be the envy of all ShadowClan apprentices. He said that silence was something she was akin to from her first breath. _I might not have a voice, but I'm certainly not quiet in the trees!_ Owlpaw snorted. _I should've been called after some other night bird. Owls are known for their silent flight! I'm anything but silent when I'm on the prowl..._

For a moment, Owlpaw dearly wished that it was night. The last Gathering she'd been to, Hookclaw had explained to her about ShadowClan hunting and fighting techniques. It'd been fascinating to listen to—how ShadowClan warriors thrived in the blackest of nights, embraced the comfort of darkness and shadow, made them quick and wily. They perfected the art of stealth, moving only among the shadows and treading on soft pine needles than noisy bracken and fallen leaves.

He'd even shown her how to move noiselessly among the shadows of the Gathering Island. "The trick, you see, is to blend," he'd explained. "Since they tumble out of the nursery, ShadowClan kits are taught to walk in a special way—they will have perfected their 'shadow walk', as I call it, by the time they are apprentices, and do it naturally. It's what gives us that ability to 'vanish' into an environment. Do you notice how you walk? You only really pay attention when you're hunting. What if you could drop in and out of a stealth crouch without thought, creep up on and kill a mouse without need of concentration? The trick is to walk by placing the very edges of your toes upon the ground first, enough to take your weight without pain, then lowering your pad just a fraction slower upon the ground so it lands noiselessly."

He'd demonstrated, and Owlpaw, to her astonishment, could not hear his footsteps, nor feel them on the ground. It was as though he were stalking than walking. Then he'd even taught her how to start learning to 'shadow walk'. It'd been tricky, much harder than she'd anticipated.

"It takes practice for a grown cat," Hookclaw had admitted, "but it is still possible for one to learn to shadow walk. My mother did. My grandfather did. They were grown cats, and they perfected the shadow walk in the end—and they began much later than you."

Since that Gathering, nearly a whole moon ago, Owlpaw had practiced every day when she was alone—whether she was gathering herbs in the forest or doing chores in the hollow. _But I haven't practiced for days—no wonder I'm noisy! The WindClan-ThunderClan skirmish completely drove shadow walking practices out of my head!_

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, recalling the paw movements that Hookclaw had shown her. He said it could even work in the trees, if she was careful and quiet enough—and patient enough to learn it.

_But I've practiced heaps on the ground._ Owlpaw began to gingerly move forward, placing her paws down gently and carefully on the tree branches beneath her. _I should be able to do it relatively easily in the treetops, too._

She remembered the blackbird. _I'll have to make sure I don't disturb any other birds. Their alarm calls could give me right away._

The thought of the next Gathering gave Owlpaw a few shivers down her backbone. _I'll meet Hookclaw again, and all his ShadowClan friends. I want to tell them how much I've been practicing the shadow walk. I might even be able to demonstrate to him! Then I'll be a master of silence—swift and dangerous, quiet as an owl in flight._

She sprang from the leaning limbs of a young white oak to those of a sapling ash. She wobbled at first, sending a small shower of bark down to the forest below. They fell against a bramble bush and the barbs shook. Owlpaw cringed. _Stupid stone-paws!_

"I heard something over there!"

Owlpaw froze. _Graypaw!_

Suddenly Graypaw and Clawpaw appeared beneath her, like spirits from StarClan. Treading softly on the ground, they approached the bramble bush, sniffing it cautiously.

"I can't smell anyone here," Graypaw muttered.

Clawpaw frowned. He jumped over the bramble bush and spun around, clearly expecting to find one of his sisters crouched behind it. Owlpaw twitched her whiskers in silent laughter at his puzzled expression. "A mouse, maybe?" the dark tabby apprentice wondered.

"But there isn't a mouse here, either," said Graypaw.

"Strange." Clawpaw looked over his shoulder. "Maybe it was just the wind."

Graypaw shrugged, absent of answers. "Hurry up," he whispered. "We have to get to the Sky Oak, remember?"

_The Oak! I nearly forgot!_ Owlpaw took a deep, soundless breath, then concentrated hard. She pictured Ravenpaw prowling through the trees, stalking every shadow like a ShadowClan cat, dark amber eyes bright and alert. Then Owlpaw pictured where she was—above a bramble bush, in the branches of an ash sapling, her brothers just beneath. _I don't know if they're near or far to the Sky Oak, but I'm not taking any chances._

She hoped Ravenpaw had sensed her location. _I'd be amazed if we could still sense where the other is this far away,_ she thought.

Owlpaw looked down. Graypaw and Clawpaw were moving away, weaving through the bramble thickets like snakes. _I can't lose them._ She quickly set off after her brothers, treading the branches as heavily as she dared to.

She wasn't Thrushsong, who moved through the trees with her namesake's ability, at ease in the trees as much as if she were on the ground. But Owlpaw could climb better than her brothers and sister, given she wasn't as heavy as them and she was good at small, precise paw movements from long hours sorting through herbs and digging them up from the ground. _Now my pawsteps are lighter than ever,_ Owlpaw thought, _due to my shadow walking practicing._ She glided after her brothers, barely making a sound.

A flash of gold tabby fur nearby made Owlpaw freeze. Lionstar? Had she seen him? _They're watching us,_ she remembered, and shivered beneath her fur.

A gentle breeze rocked the canopies—but Owlpaw's sharp hearing caught a faint whisper riding on it, calling her name.

Owlpaw stopped. It sounded like Ravenpaw. _Where are you?_

"_Owlpaw!_" Owlpaw jerked her head up. A few boughs away from her was Ravenpaw, breathing her name so softly it strained at the edges of Owlpaw's hearing—but her brothers couldn't detect the whisper and walked on, unaware of their sisters hiding in the branches above their heads.

Owlpaw carefully made her way to Ravenpaw's side. _You found me!_

Ravenpaw nodded. "_I just sensed where you were and found you up in the tree near the old Thunderpath,_" she whispered. She nodded downwards. Graypaw and Clawpaw were investigating a fern bush that had supposedly rattled too noisily from the wind. "_We'll tree-spring them,_" she breathed. "_Take them by surprise._"

Owlpaw hesitated. _Then?_

"_Then we beat them off,_" Ravenpaw finished.

_That isn't going to work,_ Owlpaw said. She nodded at Clawpaw. _Don't forget who Graypaw's companion is. Clawpaw probably is as good as Lionblaze, and we can't defeat him even with the two of us, as well as Graypaw. Not with a frontal assault._

Ravenpaw frowned. "_Then what else do you suggest?_" she whispered irritably. "_We pelt them with acorns and pretend they're omens from StarClan?_"

Owlpaw rolled her eyes. _Of course not. But I think we should use some other technique that'll confuse them._ She frowned. There _was_ a move special to ThunderClan that they used for just this kind of thing.

"_Wait a moment..._" Ravenpaw's eyes cleared. "_The Lightning Strike technique! You mean that, don't you?_"

Owlpaw nodded. _That's the one!_

Ravenpaw gave a very soft purr and flicked her tailtip against Owlpaw's flanks. "_Genius,_" she whispered warmly. "_I don't think they're expecting that. We haven't used the Lightning Strike for moons in training! But do you know how you do it?_"

Owlpaw shook her head. _I've only heard about it from what I've caught off young warriors and you when you come back from battle training._

Ravenpaw nodded. "_It's very simple. We attack, frontal and open and take them by surprise. After we've clawed them a bit, before they really start fighting back, I'll call for a retreat. We disappear into the nearest bramble bushes. Before they can recover, we attack again, but from a different position that they're not expecting us to attack from._" Her eyes grew thoughtful. "_We could even try an extended Lightning Strike. We attack them for however long it takes for them to give in. Each time we launch a new strike, we could kick up dirt from the ground to blind them and make our attack more effective._"

Owlpaw's ears flicked forward. Ravenpaw was so smart! _Let's try it,_ she said, digging her claws excitedly into the branch beneath her.

Ravenpaw nodded. "_Just follow my lead,_" she said, "_and you'll be fine._" Lithe as a breath of wind, the sleek black she-cat crept across the branches, steadily making her way to her brothers. Owlpaw followed suit, careful not to disturb a single twig beneath her paws.

Then they were directly above Graypaw and Clawpaw. "_Ready?_" Ravenpaw whispered. Owlpaw nodded, bunched her muscles, and prepared to leap.

Ravenpaw's eyes glinted, her claws extended and she pushed herself from the tree branch with a furious shriek. "ThunderClan, attack!" Owlpaw did the same, but the words flashed like fire in her eyes instead. She crashed into Graypaw—Ravenpaw into Clawpaw.

For a moment there was confusion, particularly for the two who had just been squashed by their sisters. Then Owlpaw recovered, and she swatted furiously at Graypaw's head. The gray tom hissed, then pushed up suddenly. Owlpaw landed on her paws and immediately began to assault her brother with a volley of blows.

_Claws unsheathed!_ she remembered. She slid them out and clawed at her brother's pale gray fur.

Suddenly Graypaw vanished. Owlpaw instinctively twisted to the side, again avoiding his half-turn belly rake. As he scrambled to his paws, she jumped on him and pummelled his head with her forepaws. Graypaw growled and knocked her legs out from under her. Owlpaw let her body twist and roll across the grass, straight back onto her four paws.

"ThunderClan! Away!" Ravenpaw's yowl rang above the clamour, and instantly Owlpaw twisted around and vanished straight into the nearest bramble thicket, not caring if the thorns scraped through her fur or stung her ears. Then she rounded into a soft fern bush and kept as quiet as she could.

After a moment she heard Graypaw exclaim, "What in the name of StarClan are they doing?"

"The Lightning Strike!" Clawpaw yowled. "Those tricky mouse-hearts! Stay close, Graypaw. They'll be striking again any moment."

A part of Owlpaw was a little disappointed that Clawpaw had figured out her intentions so quickly. She also wondered where Ravenpaw was. She cautiously looked beneath a fern frond. Graypaw and Clawpaw had their flanks pressed together, claws unsheathed, warily looking in opposite directions.

Then Owlpaw caught a glimpse of a white-tipped tail. Ravenpaw was on the other side of the clearing! For a moment she considered going over to her, but suddenly an idea—her sister's idea—flickered in her mind. _Why not attack from opposite sides instead of together?_

Owlpaw loved her sister then. Such a practical idea!

_Graypaw is mine,_ said her sister's intentions. Owlpaw glimpsed Ravenpaw, just a dark shadow, carefully positioning herself near Graypaw. At once the medicine cat apprentice began to gingerly creep towards Clawpaw, praying her older brother wouldn't hear her.

_Shadow walk,_ she thought at once. _Use the shadow walk._ She eased her paws, claw tips to pad, upon the ground. Even she couldn't hear her own footsteps no matter how hard she tried. Though her legs began to ache a little from the unaccustomed strain, Owlpaw felt pleasure warm her from nose to tailtip. _If I can't hear me, nor can my brothers._

Then she was in pouncing distance. Clawpaw still wasn't looking her way.

"_Attack!_" Ravenpaw screeched.

Owlpaw charged forward; at the last moment, she remembered about the dust, and slid sideways. Her hind paws chucked up a small cloud of dust and Clawpaw stepped back with a startled hiss.

Now_ I attack!_ Owlpaw jumped onto her dazed brother, even though anticipation was coiling tightly in her stomach. She slammed all her weight into Clawpaw, but it was not enough to knock him off balance. _Great StarClan, he's heavy!_

Clawpaw recovered quicker than Owlpaw and suddenly her ear was burning. Owlpaw gasped and countered without really thinking. She caught her brother's cheek and he grunted with pain. _Claws unsheathed!_ she told herself, and drove them through her brother's fur, pulling a few tufts clean out.

Suddenly Clawpaw jumped out of the dust with half-closed eyes. He wrapped his forepaws around Owlpaw's shoulders and slammed her into the ground. Instantly Owlpaw shifted her weight to one side, throwing Clawpaw's forelegs off her, and she pulled herself onto her paws.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Owlpaw scrambled for cover.

As she painfully dragged herself through a bramble thicket, they softly rustled again and Ravenpaw appeared beside her. Her amber eyes were worried.

"Are you okay?" she whispered. Then her eyes widened. "Your ear!"

Owlpaw quickly brought her forepaw up and dabbed at the scratches there. It came away with a few beads of crimson stark against her white toes.

"He drew blood." Ravenpaw frowned. "I shouldn't have put you up against Clawpaw..."

Owlpaw shook her head. _It's fine. I'll treat it with cobweb when I get back to the hollow._

Ravenpaw frowned. "You'd better," she whispered. "Medicine cats aren't meant to have scars. Jayfeather will chew Lionstar's whiskers off if he sees it!"

_Lionstar will have to say farewell to his whiskers, then,_ Owlpaw thought ruefully. _Jayfeather can even detect if you've stubbed your toe. Nothing escapes his awareness._

Ravenpaw sighed. "Let's make this one count, then," she murmured. "Together—and we'll pair-fight them in submission. If you take Graypaw and I Clawpaw, and keep them separated, we can beat them into submission."

Owlpaw gave a short nod. Her muscles hurt, her ear stung, but she was having quite possibly the best time of her life. Herbs and medicine didn't ever make her blood rush like this in her body, setting every sense inside of her on fire. She prepared herself, Ravenpaw at her side. Tension flowed through both their bodies, gathering energy, coiled and waiting to be unleashed.

Just beyond Clawpaw turned to Graypaw. "You all right? One of our sisters gave you quite the clawing there."

"Probably Ravenpaw," Graypaw muttered with a soft moan. "Her blows are harder than Owlpaw's."

Owlpaw, despite herself, bristled in anger. _My strikes aren't hard? We'll see about that, Gray Terror._

Clawpaw frowned. "Don't underestimate our sisters. Together they're as cunning as foxes." He turned around. "We should leave, now. The Sky Oak isn't far from here. They won't be able to outrun us if we get out."

"Not if you have us at your tails!" Ravenpaw hissed. She raised her voice. "_Attack!_"

She and Owlpaw, in perfect unison, sprang clean over the bramble thicket and crashed into their appropriate targets. Dust whirled up beneath their paws, and instantly Owlpaw and Ravenpaw fell into the pair-fighting stance, flanks brushed up against each other, and facing their divided enemy. As the dust cleared, they swiped and jabbed at their brothers, still trying to find their paws.

Owlpaw would've hissed if she could, but she knew Graypaw could see it in her eyes. She ducked beneath a flailing paw, pummelled his shoulders, forced him further and further away. She bunched her muscles, preparing to spring onto his back and rake her claws down his spine—

Pain bloomed in her cheek and she gasped, falling back against Ravenpaw, who had done the same. Owlpaw blinked a few times and instantly turned to her sister. She was recoiling from a powerful swipe that Clawpaw had delivered, and Owlpaw shared her sister's pain.

But Owlpaw didn't let it hinder her. It made her angrier. She twisted around, forgetting Graypaw for the moment, and leapt at Clawpaw instead. As though they'd practiced it for moons, Ravenpaw turned her attention to Graypaw and swiped and slashed at his nose and whiskers.

Owlpaw's cheek throbbed, red-hot, like her clawed ear. She ducked beneath Clawpaw's volley of forepaw slashes and countered with a few wide, deliberate sweeps with sheathed paws. She knocked against his head and Clawpaw hissed, faltering in his attack for just a moment. Owlpaw took the opportunity to deliver a forepaw slash of her own. She smacked her paw hard across Clawpaw's muzzle.

But Clawpaw, through six moons of hard training, had become as enduring as a rock. He barely recoiled from the paw strike and prepared to lunge on his sister.

Instantly Owlpaw felt something push against her flanks, spinning her the other way. With a furious caterwaul, Ravenpaw took over Clawpaw, countering his attacks with deadly precision. Owlpaw again faced Graypaw, though he looked significantly more battered than she remembered him.

He was also growing tired—Owlpaw was, too. Her muscles were aching so badly that she could hardly deliver forepaw slashes, and she missed a few parries, resulting in a few clumps of torn fur. Then she saw a break. Graypaw had stumbled. She slammed into him with all her strength; it was enough to knock him off his paws. Instantly she scrambled on top of him and prepared to rake her hind paws down the length of his belly.

"Stop!" Graypaw gasped. "I give in! I give in!"

Owlpaw blinked in astonishment. She stared at her brother, lying limp under her. Had he really surrendered to her?

"Now get off me," Graypaw mumbled.

Owlpaw obeyed, still stunned. Graypaw clambered to his paws and shook out his fur, looking absolutely exhausted. "Good fight," he murmured, giving a small purr.

Suddenly Clawpaw gave a sharp, angry yowl. Owlpaw whipped around. The fight wasn't over yet!

But Ravenpaw seemed to have it under control. Enthused by Graypaw's swift defeat, she attacked Clawpaw with renewed vigour. She twisted to the side and performed a perfect half-turn belly rake, leaving Clawpaw cringing in pain, then delivered a savage hind kick that left him staggering. As he fought to regain balance, Owlpaw twisted completely around and pushed off, knocking into her brother and throwing him completely off his paws. Lying on the ground, Ravenpaw immediately pinned him and Owlpaw stood nearby, claws extended and body tensed.

Clawpaw looked from sister to sister in plain astonishment. Then his body went limp.

Ravenpaw tightened her grip on him. "I'm not letting to until you say you're defeated."

Clawpaw sighed; the 'play dead' hadn't worked. It never seemed to on Ravenpaw. "I give in," he murmured.

"And may you remember it." Ravenpaw backed off her brother, and he hauled himself to his paws.

As he was shaking the dust out of his fur, the brambles rustled at the edge of the clearing. The mentors emerged, wearing impressed expressions—especially Lionstar. "Well done, all of you," he meowed. The apprentices scrambled to neatly seat themselves in front of their leader, brother against brother, sister against sister.

"How did we do?" asked Ravenpaw brightly.

Blossomfall shot Dewclaw a satisfied twitch of her whiskers, then brushed her tail against her apprentice's flank. "Extraordinarily," she answered.

"All of you did." Hazeltail affectionately rubbed her muzzle against Graypaw's cheek. "You fought and tracked exceptionally, Gray Terror."

"As did you, Clawpaw." Dewclaw settled down near his apprentice. "You delivered some perfect battle moves, and you showed excellent leadership qualities."

Owlpaw's heart warmed, listening to the warriors praising her littermates. _But not as much as Ravenpaw._

"And you, Owlpaw..." Lionstar was gazing warmly at her, and a soft, affectionate purr rumbled beneath every word. "You weren't a medicine cat apprentice today. You fought like a warrior."

Owlpaw blinked and ducked her head, embarrassed.

"It's probably time to head back to the hollow," Blossomfall noted, and spared a glance at the sky. "The sun's starting to set. Runningleap and Skymoon and their apprentices are probably back there already, wondering where we are."

Lionstar nodded. "We'll head back there. All of you, go and see Jayfeather, and have him and Owlpaw tend to your aches and scratches. Then have a good night's sleep; your hunting assessment begins at dawn tomorrow."

Owlpaw didn't share in her littermates' enthusiasm and excitement. All she felt was a sudden welling of sadness inside of her, swamping her. It was back to being a medicine cat. Back to performing an isolated duty full of healing and plants.

_I should've expected this. I've made my choice. I can't walk with a paw in each world._

* * *

"I'm amazed that any of you survived this supposed 'assessment'," Jayfeather meowed dryly as he applied a dock poultice to Ravenpaw's shoulder. "And I'm amazed that Lionstar allowed you to take part in it." He frowned sternly at Owlpaw. "You'll be lucky if that ear scratch doesn't scar."

Owlpaw didn't answer, just focused on weaving some cobweb on Graypaw's muzzle, where Ravenpaw had opened a scratch just above his nose. Some of the silvery sticky threads already clung to her ear, which she'd treated.

Somehow, putting cobweb on a wound just wasn't as exciting as grappling with Clawpaw in open combat. _Claws unsheathed._

"Thanks," Graypaw murmured. As though sensing her quiet despair, he commented, "Your claws are sharp for a medicine cat."

Owlpaw shot her brother a look. _So I'm not as weak-pawed as you previously thought?_

Graypaw looked surprised. "You heard that?"

_What do you think, mouse-brain?_ Owlpaw lowered her forepaw. _There. You can go and do whatever it is brothers do at sunset._

Graypaw swiped a tongue around his jaws. "Yeah, eat and sleep. Share a mouse later?"

_Sounds awesome._ Owlpaw nodded to the entrance to the den. _Off you go. It's crowded enough in here as it is._

"Sure. Thanks, Owlpaw!" Graypaw jumped to his paws and padded out of the den.

Stormbreeze, lying in a nest nearby, paused in her washing to stare after Graypaw in astonishment. "So it's not just you and Ravenpaw who can do your funny body language thing, then," she mewed, glancing at Owlpaw and then Ravenpaw just beyond.

"Nope!" Ravenpaw answered cheerfully. "So can Clawpaw. We can all understand Owlpaw—I just understand her best."

Owlpaw nodded, absently playing with a stray fern near her paws.

"You're so lucky you have a sister," Stormbreeze sighed, shaking out her fur where it wasn't plastered down by salves. "Sometimes I wish I had one and just two brothers."

Owlpaw frowned in puzzlement. _Why?_

Stormbreeze seemed to understand, because she answered, "Have _you_ ever tried managing _three_ brothers? It's as tiring as being a queen with kits that get up to mischief every half moment!"

"I can believe you," Ravenpaw mewed lightly. "It's hard enough managing two!"

"You're done," Jayfeather said curtly, giving Ravenpaw a flick with his tail. "Now get out."

Ravenpaw snorted at him. "Brusque, aren't you?"

"I always am. Out."

"Yes, O Mighty One." Ravenpaw shot Jayfeather a teasing glance, then nodded to Owlpaw. "I'll see you outside soon—you must be famished after that awesome fighting stuff we did!"

Owlpaw nodded. Her belly was growling like an angry Clawpaw.

As Ravenpaw slipped outside, Jayfeather immediately turned to Owlpaw. "Right. Now that we're finally alone—"

"Ahem," said Stormbreeze pointedly.

Jayfeather ignored her. "—I can give you Aura's message."

Owlpaw's ears flicked up in surprise. _Aura has a message for me?_

"Clearly. She wants to have a private talk with you." Jayfeather frowned. "You're excused from duties tomorrow morning. I have a feeling it's going to take a while."

"Why? What's going on?" Stormbreeze demanded at once—voicing Owlpaw's thoughts exactly.

Jayfeather rolled his eyes and set about cleaning up the herbs still lying at his paws. "The first night," was all he said—but Owlpaw understood. Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore.


	8. To Belong To A Legacy

Chapter Eight

TO BELONG TO A LEGACY

* * *

High above, in a raven-black sky, stars shone and twinkled, countless droplets of gleaming white fire with indigo clouds. A silver glow washed over the world that lay beneath—a world of fog and loneliness. At least, that was how the tom considered it as he descended seemingly from the stars themselves.

He was very pale, a wandering spirit, whose form was so faint it seemed transparent like fine mist. As his paws touched the soft grass underpaw, he seemed to grow more solid, thicker and denser. His eyes shone a pale green, his fur rumpled and hazel-brown. He walked with a slight spring in his step; his hind legs were thickset and very strong.

Looking ahead, the tom saw a silver pool ringed by a glade. Tall, slender willow trees rose up on all sides of him. Their long, trailing leaves shone from dark blue to purple in the starlight, and when stirred by a gentle wind, they fluttered like a swarm of butterfly wings. Seated beneath the roots of one particularly large willow, gazing motionlessly into the pool, was another spirit, for sparkling dust was woven into his pelt and he seemed only half-there.

But he looked up as the brown tom approached. His eyes were large and of the deepest gray, the core so black they seemed fathomless.

"So it is done?" he murmured.

The brown tom dipped his head. "Yes, it is done."

The dark blue-gray tom heaved a troubled, quiet sigh and returned his strange gaze to the pool beneath him. Without invitation, the brown settled himself across from him, tailtip twitching back and forth.

After a moment he said, "She's very young."

"I know," said the gray-eyed spirit. "But she's strong."

The brown tom looked troubled. "I think we've chosen our warrior too early."

"No." Just as suddenly as he looked down, the gray-eyed tom jerked his head back up. There was a cold hardness in his voice, and certainty in his gaze. "She is not too young. She will help us. She will be the moon in the sky."

The brown tom looked into the pool, though he saw only darkness at the bottom. Reflecting his own doubt straight back into his eyes. At last, he gave a sigh. "I did not believe you before, and it led to my end," he said. "I will trust you now, and I pray that she leads us to our promised brighter dawn."

The gray-eyed tom curled his tail over his paws. "She will give us hope," he said quietly. "I know she will."

* * *

Loud, excited—and familiar—voices woke Owlpaw, and she was on her paws before she'd even shaken the sleep from her ears.

_I hadn't even realized I'd gone to sleep._ It'd been the longest night she'd ever had. Tossing and turning, she'd restlessly fidgeted and tugged at her bedding with her claws. What Jayfeather had told her still haunted her, and it all came flooding back as the blood rushed through her body.

She glanced towards the other two occupied nests in the medicine den. Jayfeather was still curled in a tight little gray tabby ball, breathing rhythmically in the comfort of sleep, and Stormbreeze, still confined to the medicine den, was drowsing on her back, forepaws flopped over her chest.

_Her salve needs changing,_ Owlpaw thought absently, _and a fresh coating applied. And she really should start doing some gentle exercises to help her torn muscles strengthen. _Then she gave herself a quick shake. _What am I doing? I'm thinking like some wise old medicine cat. What about yesterday? When you were a warrior?_

Her mind flickered back to when she and Ravenpaw had done the Lightning Strike on their brothers. How exhilarating it was to wrestle and grapple with her claws and paws—and seeing Graypaw cringe under her, pleading mercy, offering surrender...defeating an enemy trying to harm her Clan had given her so much more satisfaction than mending wounds.

Listening to her littermates' voices echoing outside with their mentors—discussing their hunting assessment—Owlpaw thought back to her first meeting with Hookclaw, and what he'd said about her silence. He'd been proud of it. He thought she could even be a warrior with it.

_Owls are creatures of the night, birds of silence—perhaps, just like my mother, you were born in the wrong Clan._

She frowned. She'd felt so young and naïve all those moons ago. Six moons of training as a medicine cat had sharpened and aged her mind beyond that of her littermates', taught in swift reflexes and strategic thinking, and now she looked back on Hookclaw's words and knew the intention beneath them.

_But Hookclaw believes in me._ Owlpaw thought of her mother, her foster father. _But they believe in me, too. They love me, no matter what path I take._

She realized that there was silence in the hollow; her littermates must have gone into the forest to begin their assessment, and for just a moment, absolute loneliness opened up inside her heart. She never wanted to be different from them. They were brothers and sisters; they did everything together in their kithood. _Now I'm treading a different path, an isolated path._

_But it's a good path,_ she told herself sternly. _I'm healing my Clanmates who might die from their wounds if not for me. Jayfeather trusts me._ Pride shimmered in her heart at this. _He has faith in my abilities. He's taught me nearly everything I have to know about being the best medicine cat I can be._

_I'm a medicine cat. _She drew a deep breath. _This is the path I have chosen. I can't be a warrior, but I will be the best medicine cat there ever was in ThunderClan. I will serve my Clan just the same._

Her stomach growled, and Owlpaw quickly slipped out of the medicine den to get some breakfast.

But as she approached the fresh-kill pile, her appetite began to dwindle. Owlpaw couldn't help but spare a glance towards the warriors' den, where Aura slept. What in the name of StarClan did she want to speak to her about?

_Does she know of my doubt?_ A chill swept through Owlpaw. _Does she want to try and talk me out of my thoughts of a life of warriors? But that doesn't have anything to do with the first night..._

The first night. It was like a kick to the belly. _No, she wants to speak with me about that._ Owlpaw dug her claws into the earth. _My journey into StarClan. How I brought Stormbreeze back from death. What does this mean? Is it because I'm a medicine cat? Jayfeather speaks as if he's done the same._

She gave a frustrated sigh. _If only we still did the half moon rituals, still went to the Moonpool, even if it was just to talk. Gatherings are too long a wait for medicine cats. _She knew that there would be one in a few days—perhaps her littermates would be warriors then—but would Jayfeather even tell the other medicine cats about what she'd done? _He might not,_ she reasoned. _He's had a power himself. He didn't go around telling everyone. He didn't even tell his own littermates their destiny until several moons after he'd learned about it._

Her claws hooked absently at a stale mouse, and she rolled it beneath her paws. _But what does this mean for me?_ She was frightened inside. _StarClan's connection with us is almost severed entirely. Yet I can reach them. I even met a StarClan spirit._ The tufty-furred brown tom flashed in her mind. She hadn't thought about him for some time. _And I never even learned his name..._

"You seem troubled."

Owlpaw glanced over her shoulder; Hollythorn stood just a little way away, her eyes warm and gentle.

"I hate to see you so unhappy." Hollythorn padded up to her daughter and rasped her tongue affectionately over Owlpaw's ear. "Did you get to say goodbye to your littermates before they went into the forest?"

Owlpaw shook her head. _But sometimes I don't need to,_ she thought. She pictured Ravenpaw stalking through the dew-laced undergrowth, small nose twitching as she detected scent of mouse.

"Is that why you're feeling sad?" Hollythorn mewed.

Owlpaw shook her head and leaned into her mother's soft gray-brown tabby fur. Hollythorn's tail curled around Owlpaw's flanks, tucking her there, and for a moment she felt like a kit again, snuggled against her and her littermates in the warm milky smell of the nursery.

_How do I explain to her?_ Owlpaw wondered.

Hollythorn's soft green eyes were trained on the trees beyond the hollow. She seemed to be lost in a moment of nostalgia. "I can remember being an apprentice," she murmured. "But that was many seasons ago. It feels like a whole lifetime has passed since I was Hollypaw, warrior apprentice of ThunderClan."

Owlpaw curled the tip of her fluffy tail over her paws and tried to picture her mother as a six-moon-old apprentice, heading out of camp for the first time with her mentor. It was difficult; she'd only ever known her mother as the big, gentle queen who'd been the source of comfort in the dark, peaceful nursery. She couldn't even really picture her mother as a warrior.

"I was as close with Runningleap and Mapleleaf as you are with your brothers and sister," Hollythorn went on. "We did everything together, though it wore our mentors out some. But we received so much special treatment!" She gave a soft, worn-out sigh. "They thought us being the kits of the Clan leader entitled us to privileges that didn't normally befall other apprentices. For a short time we shared the apprentices' den with Flamefur and Yellownose, and they were jealous, undeniably." Owlpaw's whiskers twitched at the thought of Yellownose being envious of her own mother. "We refused to even look at each other, even after they'd left the apprentices' den as warriors."

Hollythorn gave a quiet sigh. "It seemed like being the sons of a former loner and the sister of the mate of one of the Three didn't quite give them the same advantages in the Clan.

"I remember having had enough. I didn't want to be sneered at by Yellownose and Flamefur, being treated as though we were the Three all over again. So I went and spoke with Father. He was very sympathetic. Then he called our mentors into his den and had a word with them."

Owlpaw flicked her ears excitedly. _And then? _she thought, silently willing her mother on.

She obliged. "The very next day, Bumblestripe took me hunting, and we hunted until our paws ached and we were so tired we could hardly think straight. We returned with enough to feed half the Clan." Hollythorn gave a soft _mrrow_. "It was tough, staying and hunting out there longer than I'd naturally ever accustomed to, but it was _wonderful_. And we did it again and again each day until I didn't hurt anymore—and nobody ever gave us the same special treatment we received in our kithood and early apprenticeship again."

Hollythorn gave Owlpaw's ear another friendly lick. "I was troubled at your age," she said gently. "I don't want that same trouble to befall any of my kits. Especially not you, Owlpaw."

Owlpaw shrugged. She thought back to her days as Owlkit; she'd lived her entire life in silence, unable to utter a single word, yet Hollythorn had never slowed down for her. She treated her exactly the same as she had with the rest of her kits. She'd never made exceptions. _My mother believed in me stronger than I ever considered,_ Owlpaw realized. _She believed I could become a warrior. And so did Moleclaw. I'm a better fighter than Graypaw, and he's been a warrior apprentice since he was six moons old._

Owlpaw frowned at this realization. _Is that...normal? Maybe I do have some strange ability..._The fear returned to her stomach, and she dug her claws into the ground. _Maybe that's what Aura wants to talk to me about. My access into StarClan, and my fighting prowess._

"Hollythorn!" Ivypool's curt yowl echoed across the hollow, and Owlpaw felt her mother twist at the call of her name. "Since you're up early, how about you lead the dawn patrol to the ShadowClan border and back? Take whoever you want with you."

Hollythorn nodded, then turned back to her daughter. "Have a good day, love," she murmured. Her whiskers lovingly brushed Owlpaw's, and then Hollythorn was hurrying back to the warriors' den, no doubt to find some unfortunate warriors to get up at the crack of dawn.

Owlpaw watched her go. The discussion with her mother had been nice, and her warmth had been comforting...but she could not hold back the worm of anticipation that still squirmed in the depths of her gut.

* * *

"You seem distracted this morning."

Owlpaw glanced over her shoulder at Stormbreeze's observation. The dark gray she-cat was sitting up in her nest, absentmindedly tossing a wad of moss between her forepaws to keep from boredom. They had the den to themselves—Jayfeather was in the elders' den giving Briarlight some new exercises to do—but Owlpaw wished Stormbreeze could start moving about again.

She shrugged at the injured warrior, then returned to rolling a bit of fern aimlessly beneath her paws. She was listening hard to the activity outside. Only an hour had passed since the sunrise talk with her mother, but still Aura had not come for her. Vaguely she wondered how her littermates were doing with their assessments—and if the cuts and bruises they'd obtained the former day harried them at all.

Absentmindedly she touched the claw marks on her ear. A part of her hoped they'd scar. _The only remainder of the day I spent as a warrior._

"You want to talk about it?" Stormbreeze asked.

Owlpaw shot her a dry look. _If only_, she thought.

Stormbreeze rolled her eyes. "I can speak 'yes and no questions', mouse-brain," she said. "But you're all tight and unhappy. Still feeling the effects from the training you did yesterday?"

Owlpaw shrugged. The memory lingered, but the exhilaration had long passed.

"Your littermates...they went out on their assessments today, right?" Stormbreeze was rewarded with a curt nod. "You must be feeling hopeful for them, then." Stormbreeze gave a rusty purr. "I can remember the day I went out with my littermates on my assessments, clear as water. We did pair-hunting, and it was absolutely thrilling—my brother and I, and our partners, managed to catch a pheasant."

Owlpaw's ears flicked forward. Though she had been very young at the time, she could remember now, the huge feathery animal that the apprentices had brought back from an important outing. She and her littermates had had a taste—it had a strange flavour, but not at all unpleasant.

"Perhaps your littermates will be successful in pulling one of _those_ giants out of the air," Stormbreeze purred warmly. "I could do with the taste of pheasant again."

Before Owlpaw could listen to more, she suddenly heard voices outside—one of them belonged to someone she immediately recognized. _Sunpaw!_ Then that meant he had to be with Skymoon, and Skymoon was _always_ around Aura...

She hurried to the front of the medicine den and peeked through the trailing brambles. Sure enough, in the middle of the clearing, she made out three shapes, one small and sun-golden, one tall and dusky-gray and one with a brilliant tortoiseshell-and-white pelt. As though they'd heard, Skymoon and Aura looked at the medicine den—and straight at _her_.

Owlpaw's paws tingled. She didn't even say goodbye to Stormbreeze—her paws were already moving, and she shouldered her way through the entrance and hurried to their sides.

"Hi, Owlpaw!" Sunpaw greeted brightly. "Skymoon said we wanted you!"

"Yes, that's quite enough," Skymoon said tersely to her apprentice. Sunpaw flinched and fell silent—and Owlpaw felt that familiar surge of frustration to the strange gray warrior. She still didn't understand the bitterness she seemed to harbour especially for the friendly tabby tom.

"I'm glad you're here." Owlpaw turned her attention to Aura, and her pale golden eyes were as solemn as her voice. "Perhaps now the truth can be explained, and progress can be made."

Owlpaw frowned. _Progress? What is she on about?_

"We're going to Triumph Rock!" Sunpaw announced, forgetting his mentor's instruction. He jumped to his paws and excitedly twisted in a small circle, too restless to sit still. "And we're going to Triumph Rock _with_ the Clan leader!"

_Lionstar? He's coming, too?_ Owlpaw looked questioningly at Aura. She dipped her head once in consent.

"The Three must hear this," she added.

The elders' den rustled as Jayfeather emerged. His blue eyes were expressionless as he easily found his way to the gathered group. As though his arrival had unsettled a chain of events, Dovewing said farewell to Ivypool—the pair had been sharing a mouse beneath Highledge—and hurried to them, just as Lionstar emerged from his den, fur groomed and shining like the sun.

"Good morning, Owlpaw," Dovewing mewed politely, but Owlpaw didn't miss the guarded expression in the pale gray warrior's pale amber eyes. "I hope you rested well."

"I hope we all did," Lionstar stated upon arrival. "This could be a long time."

Sunpaw looked both excited and nervous, and he glanced anxiously between the Three. "Has something happened?" he asked uncertainly.

"Possibly," Skymoon answered. For once, her voice seemed gentler and more like how a mentor should sound to a young apprentice. She gracefully lifted herself to her paws and said, "Come. We've spent enough time here."

The rest of the gathered cats also got to their paws and headed to the thorn barrier at a swift pace. Inside, Owlpaw's unease did not die down. _Skymoon's coming with us? And the Three? I wasn't told of this..._

But if anyone was more uneasy than Owlpaw just by the way they looked, it was Sunpaw. The tom was big for his age, but he seemed small beneath his fur, more like the kit he had been only a few days ago. "Do you know what's going on?" he mumbled to Owlpaw.

Owlpaw shrugged and shook her head, somehow managing to push her way through the thorn barrier at the same time.

"Don't worry," Jayfeather said, appearing at her side. "It's just information, answers to your questions. Nothing to be worried about." But an expression of doubt flickered through his movements.

"I hope so," Dovewing agreed.

Not much else was said as they walked through the forest—but gradually Sunpaw's excitement of heading towards the north border got the better of his momentary anxiety. Suddenly he was darting at every bush and fallen leaf, taking in as much as he could. Owlpaw twitched her whiskers at the sight of his carefree nature. _It hasn't quite been drilled out of him yet. Let's hope it lasts._ She snatched a glance at Skymoon, only to see the warrior's resolve had softened somewhat, and she watched Sunpaw with what came close to affection.

Then they rounded a clump of trees and suddenly they stopped. Before them lay a pile of boulders like a small mountain. Sunpaw's eyes popped out of his head, and Owlpaw couldn't resist a soft gasp of awe. She'd never seen Triumph Rock, but she'd heard stories about it. _And if the rock pile is big, imagine the size of the thing under it!_

"Welcome to Triumph Rock," said Skymoon.

Aura sat down. "We're alone here, and it's a good place to speak," she said, as the others settled around her. "And also a good place to understand." Her voice was just as serene and calm as Owlpaw remembered it—it soothed her.

Sunpaw sat close to Owlpaw and fluffed himself up. "What...what's happening?"

"Steady, little one," Dovewing assured him, running her tail down the length of the trembling apprentice's spine. "Steady."

"Now that we're all here..." Lionstar sighed. "How to begin?"

"At the start of it all, I suppose," Aura decided. She looked among the cats and said, "I know you've heard the story of this before—particularly you, Skymoon—but I will say it again for the apprentices." Owlpaw and Sunpaw looked at the tortoiseshell in confusion. Story?

"For countless moons," Aura began, "celestial beings who call themselves the Four have watched, guided and guarded these Clans. Individually, they are known simply as Fate, Change, Destiny and Time." She swept her tail to the qualified warriors and medicine cats around her and continued. "All who you see here bear totems of the Four, young ones—these totems are called Tigermarks, Quarters of a total power the Four have granted chosen champions."

Owlpaw frowned. Tigermarks? Four? What _was_ she on about?

Sunpaw seemed to catch on quicker, though. "Are...are the Tigermarks what gave the Three their powers?" he asked quietly.

They nodded. "And the Three became Four, to bring stability and peace to the Clans, as the end drew near," Lionstar mewed.

"Firestar had already been a bearer of a Tigermark—it was what gave him his great courage and nobility, and his prowess in battle," Aura went on. "It was removed after BloodClan—you know the nursery story, don't you?—was driven from the old forest, that Firestar could live out his days in peace. It was restored to him when the Four, and StarClan, realized that Three could not protect four Clans."

Owlpaw looked amongst the older cats, still unsure how she and Sunpaw fit into it.

"After the Dark Forest was defeated, our Tigermarks were removed," Jayfeather rasped. "And we were grateful for it, especially when the last of our echoes diminished utterly. Holding such power ages a cat more than time ever could. But the Four had not finished with us yet, it seems—they left claws in descendants of the bearers of such Tigermarks."

He turned pointedly to Skymoon. "As you may know by now," the medicine cat continued, "Skymoon has a power. She was blessed with a Tigermark when she was born—a Tigermark of Time. She has the power to manipulate Time to her advantage, which has saved more lives than I care to count, enter and relive the memories of others, and see into the future, to warn us of the woes that were to come."

Dovewing flicked her tailtip at the pile of rocks behind them. "Triumph Rock is evidence of the power of my daughter's foresight," she mewed. "Should she have not seen the coming of the bear, the rocks would not be here today—and nor would any of you."

Owlpaw shivered—Sunpaw was positively trembling. He was very young to be hearing all this—so why was he at all? She still didn't understand.

"But bearing a Tigermark also means that there's a reason for it," Aura mewed. "A dark threat is rising, preparing to destroy the Clans, much more terrible than the first." Her eyes shadowed. "And that is why Skymoon cannot face these impossible odds on her own. Three more Quarter Tigermarks have been placed to three more cats to aid the tiger of Time in her quest."

It struck Owlpaw, and sent a chill racing through every vein in her body. _You don't mean...?_

"For moons we have searched for those who answer to the omen—_kin to the fire, bane of the tiger_," Aura said. "It is what dictates a destiny. Since Firestar and Tigerstar, this omen has mostly applied to their descendants in particular." She looked very sincerely at Owlpaw, and the medicine cat apprentice fought to quell her trembling paws. "We believe that we have found one such bearer."

Owlpaw gaped at her. If she could speak, she wouldn't have known what to say.

_A bearer of a Tigermark? Me?_

She hastily shook her head and looked pleadingly at Jayfeather, but the medicine cat's eyes were grave.

"You went into StarClan, little one," he rasped, "just as I did, long ago—you did the very same that I once did when I was an apprentice. We brought back a young warrior from the boundaries of death." _So he has done it before,_ Owlpaw realized. "With StarClan's connection to the world nearly severed since the Dark Forest rising, very few cats can even hear StarClan, let alone enter their domain."

His blind eyes narrowed. "You bear a Tigermark, young one. No ordinary cat could find their way into StarClan and return alive."

"Whoa..." Sunpaw was staring at her with wide amber eyes. "You went into _StarClan?_ Did you see any dead cats?"

"Yes, she did," Jayfeather answered curtly.

Dovewing frowned. "Which one?"

Owlpaw shrugged, bitterly wishing that she could speak. The image of the tufty-furred tomcat flashed in her mind. He'd never even introduced himself. "ThunderClan?" asked Dovewing.

Owlpaw remembered the tom's scent. It was unfamiliar as the mountains. She shook her head.

"Not ThunderClan," said Aura quietly, and when Owlpaw glanced at the former rogue, her eyes were curiously bright with hope. "SkyClan."

The name sent something akin to a thunderbolt through the senses of the older cats. "SkyClan?" Skymoon demanded. She looked closely at Owlpaw. "You're certain?"

Owlpaw frowned uneasily. _SkyClan? Is...is that like StarClan?_

Aura seemed to know—but she knew everything. "SkyClan is the fifth Clan," she mewed, "and they dwell far away in a gorge. They are also a part of Skymoon's destiny—and yours, Owlpaw." Her eyes grew solemn once more. "They fight a dangerous enemy, and they are dying. Who you saw was a warrior who had given his life to save his Clanmate."

_You know who he is?_ Owlpaw dug her claws into the ground. _Was this why he spoke to me? He knew I had some kind of...strange power?_ The thought still gave her an uneasy shudder down her spine. _I just want to be normal!_

"What is Owlpaw's part in Skymoon's destiny?" Jayfeather demanded—his rough, no-nonsense growl soothed Owlpaw somewhat.

Skymoon frowned. She had a thoughtful expression in her dark blue eyes, but after a moment it cleared and she mewed, "Owlpaw can walk in StarClan. She may have a part in the opened sky paths."

_Sky paths?_ Owlpaw glanced up at the blue that stretched over her. Flecks of cloud drifted above the trees.

"What's a sky path?" Sunpaw asked, speaking Owlpaw's mind.

"It's the paths the spirits walk when they travel the skies," Aura explained. "It was how StarClan travelled with the Clans on their Great Journey. It is how some StarClan cats of these Clans can communicate with the ancestors of SkyClan, far away—and it is how the Dark Forest moves as well."

"But the Dark Forest was destroyed!" Sunpaw exclaimed.

But dark expressions flickered across the faces of the older cats. "Not completely," said Lionstar softly. "We destroyed some of their most infamous and remembered—but not all. They still exist, young Sunpaw. And they desire vengeance upon us."

Skymoon lashed her tail. "All my life I have been haunted by this," she said, and her soft, cold voice thrummed in Owlpaw's ears. "I have even entered the Dark Forest several times. I have overheard the dark spirits, plotting revenge, dwelling in the foulest of secrets. New leaders have risen in the place of the old—specifically, four of them. Silverhawk, his former apprentice Thistleclaw, Mapleshade and Breezepelt."

Simultaneously Lionstar's and Jayfeather's eyes rounded in shock. "_Breezepelt_ is a leader in the Dark Forest?" they spat.

Dovewing frowned in alarm. "Your...your half-brother, wasn't he?"

"Yes, our half-brother," Lionstar growled.

"Breezepelt lives," Aura said simply, "as a deputy of..." She hesitated for only a moment. "Of SunClan."

"SunClan?" Sunpaw echoed blankly.

_How many Clans are there?_ Owlpaw thought.

"They are a Clan of rogues," Skymoon explained. She met her apprentice's eyes, and her expression held nothing but sympathy. "They are just as dark and evil as the Place Of No Stars. Breezepelt is the deputy of that Clan. He and all their warriors seek to destroy SkyClan."

"The warrior you saw in the stars, Owlpaw," Aura mewed, "he died to SunClan claws."

Owlpaw flicked her ears forward in shock.

"I've been told about this SunClan," Lionstar muttered, and threw Skymoon a dark glance. "But I've never been informed that my own kin have a paw in all this..."

Skymoon bristled. "I don't need to tell you everything," she snapped.

"Strange," Jayfeather mewed aloud, "I would've thought that Breezepelt would have been leader of this...SunClan." He spat the word disdainfully and full of hate. "So if he is not leader, then who?"

Aura stiffened. Skymoon immediately turned to her and growled, "You know you don't have to say."

"Say what?" Dovewing asked sharply. "Have you known, Skymoon?"

"Of course I've known," Skymoon retorted sharply. "You haven't needed to!"

"I thought we agreed on no more secrets in ThunderClan," Lionstar snarled. "Yet you hold more and more!"

Skymoon lifted her chin. Owlpaw had never seen the young warrior look so angry—_not since she caught me and Hookclaw talking a few Gatherings ago,_ she realized. That same energy was threatening to spill from her fur. "This was a secret that Aura _deserves_ to hold close to her heart!" she snarled back.

"No, Skymoon." The words were but a whisper, yet it silenced the tiger of Time. Aura lifted her chin, eyes firm with resolve. "It is time for them to know."

Lionstar frowned at her. "Know what?"

"Are you sure?" Skymoon whispered. Her anger had gone—anxiety had taken its place.

Aura nodded. "Yes. They are ready to comprehend." She drew a deep breath. "My father," she mewed. "My father is the leader of SunClan."

Jayfeather frowned. "And who is your father?"

Aura paused for a moment. Then she said quietly, "Sol."

Shock scorched the fur of the Three—especially Lionstar. For a few moments he groped for a word to express his disbelief. At last he spluttered, "_Sol_ is the leader of SunClan? He's your _father?_"

"Don't judge her so hard," Jayfeather rasped. "We can't exactly talk about our father with terribly much pride, now can we?"

"Crowfeather was a WindClan warrior—Sol was a deceitful _rogue!_" Lionstar lashed his tail. "Darkness followed him wherever he went—why else would the very sun have darkened in his wake? And now his very _daughter_ is here in the Clans, spreading—"

"—words of hope and wisdom," Skymoon interrupted fiercely. The anger had returned, stronger than before. Sunpaw was whimpering and cowering into Owlpaw's fur. "Aura saw the monster her father is and _left_, journeyed across an unknown expanse of territory when she was just a _kit_, protected by no one but the Ancients!" Jayfeather's ears flicked forward at this, but Skymoon pressed on. "If not for Aura, we would have been destroyed long ago, Lionstar! By greencough, by the bear, by the fire that raged through our territory, by hunger or cold or any other threat that has come to the lake!"

Lionstar fell silent.

At last, Skymoon calmed down. "Aura is the daughter of Sol," she said more softly, and leaned back on her haunches. "My destiny is to destroy him—beneath his influence, he unites all the darkness of the past. He prepares for the darkest dawns the Clans have ever known."

Jayfeather's gaze narrowed yet again. "The darkening of the sun..."

"Sol himself is closer to us than you'd think," Skymoon added. "He once carried a Tigermark."

"Who's Sol?" Sunpaw dared to mewl.

His mentor turned to him, face carefully expressionless. "He was a cat who came to the Clans with...strange wisdom of us for a rogue," she explained. "My father was _very_ young and my mother not even _born_ when he first came to us—and he foretold the sun to vanish. He caused ShadowClan to turn its back on faith and StarClan, and threatened to tear us all apart with the strife he caused."

Skymoon suddenly gave a very tired sigh. "Sunpaw, I...I am sorry for the way I have treated you." Both Sunpaw and Owlpaw sat up in surprise. "I have been...distant with you, when I should not have as your mentor." She turned to Lionstar. "You did not know in depth of SunClan—and you did not know of the hatred and fear I harboured for them. When you gave me Sunpaw as apprentice..."

She dug her claws into the ground—Owlpaw was surprised again that such a great and fearless warrior had adopted the same nervous trait she, a mute apprentice, had. "I tried to look past your name, you _must_ understand," she said, almost _begged_, of the young tom. "But my fear of the Dark Forest has become deep as the scars on my belly. I have met Breezepelt and heard his voice. Mapleshade's claws reopened my barely-healed wounds Chasefire gave to me in battle. I was already scared that their influence was working its way into the Clans. You were named after SunClan, and..." Her gaze flashed to Owlpaw. "Your brother...Clawpaw...he was unknowingly named after an infamous ShadowClan warrior, Clawface, who went to the Dark Forest in death."

Shock swept through Owlpaw, and for a moment she couldn't see straight. _Clawpaw? But..._

"Do you know of Clawface's crimes?" Skymoon murmured. "He...he was one of Brokenstar's warriors." The thought did not ease Owlpaw's churning emotions—would Ravenpaw be feeling them? "He...he did terrible things."

Owlpaw curled her tail tighter around her paws. _Like what?_

"Does she need to know the infamy of Clawface?" Lionstar growled suddenly. "Leave her be. You've hurt these two enough."

"They must know," said Aura quietly. "Owlpaw will be facing this darkness—and Sunpaw..." She turned to him. "I am uncertain, but you have a very high possibility that you carry a Tigermark."

Sunpaw's ears flicked forward in astonishment. "Wh-what? Me?"

"But as I say, I can't be certain," Aura mewed. "I have watched you and your sister and tried to discover which of you has been favoured."

"But how do you know I'm one?" Sunpaw argued.

"_Kin to the fire, bane of the tiger,_" Aura repeated simply. She went on before Sunpaw had a chance to be confused. "You are Thrushsong's son—and she is daughter of Lionstar." She spared a glance at the leader of ThunderClan. "Lionstar is the grandson of Firestar—_kin to the fire._ And your father, Sunpaw—Flamefur. He was named in honour of Flametail, and he was the grandson of Tigerstar. _Bane of the tiger._"

"Not to mention," Skymoon added softly, "that on my final visit to StarClan, the Clan founders told me outright it would be one of you."

Sunpaw didn't seem to know what to say. At last, he asked a completely unexpected question: "Did you see Flamefur there?"

Skymoon shook her head. "But I know he was there, somewhere. I know this in my heart."

"But how can you tell?" Sunpaw looked urgently at Aura. "I don't want to bear a tiger-thingy. I just want to become a good warrior! And Redpaw..." Fear flickered beneath his words for his sister, and it occurred to Owlpaw that he was still so young. "I don't want her to be in danger! _Ever!_"

"None of us asked for a Tigermark, you know," Jayfeather pointed out. "But we were chosen—clearly we were all right beneath the eyes of the stars. And if a pair of toms whose birth should have never occurred were entrusted with such power, and succeeded, I think you'll be fine if you do have one."

Lionstar's thoughts still seemed caught up in the past revelation. "I had no idea that Sol was still alive..."

"Anger and revenge can sustain a cat in both life and death for longer than it should," Aura murmured. "Mapleshade and Silverhawk are _ancient_, but both stalk the shadows of the forest as leaders of the Dark Forest."

_The Dark Forest..._Owlpaw couldn't stop shivering at the mention of the name. _I have a power, says Aura—who is never wrong. My destiny is to stop the Dark Forest alongside Skymoon and possibly Sunpaw—she has never been wrong._

"Not just the Dark Forest, young one," said Aura suddenly. Owlpaw glanced in surprise at the tortoiseshell she-cat. _Can she read thoughts?_ "There is SunClan that must also be stopped."

"You wish to go against your own Clan of birth?" Lionstar inquired skeptically.

Aura shot him a heated glare. "Of course. SunClan is not a true Clan—I am but the daughter of a dangerous rogue. And I do not think of that Clan as mine—ThunderClan is my Clan, and I will fight to defend it until I can fight no more." She turned back to Owlpaw. "Then there are others—the Dark Forest are massing together a terrible army. Both living and dead will serve them and my father."

"Like who?" Dovewing asked cautiously.

"The Forgotten," Skymoon answered. "Redwillow, a former ShadowClan tom killed by Blackstar, walks the sky paths, training them, and the sinister spirits who dwell there. It is a place in the sky where those who do not believe in StarClan dwell in death."

Dovewing frowned. "You mean to say that this Redwillow, a former Clan cat, is recruiting the spirits of rogues and loners and non-Clan cats to fight for their own sick purposes?" She sounded outraged.

"There are rogues there who call themselves Clan," Skymoon murmured, "who are _not_ to be underestimated." She looked up. "BloodClan," she said. "They have a paw in this new rising. Their ruthless numbers bolster the ranks of the Dark Forest."

Owlpaw stared. She'd heard of sinister BloodClan only through nursery stories. Firestar had been the one to kill their leader, a brutal black tom named Scourge who had killed Tigerstar, the most infamous Clan leader in Clan history, with _one blow_. One blow killed him nine times, she'd been told.

"But BloodClan was destroyed!" Jayfeather argued.

"BloodClan survived, and BloodClan _lives_," Aura urged. "Even now the Clan lives in the Twolegplace the ancient BloodClan dwelled in—and the dead who served beneath Scourge still follow him. And Scourge has decided to follow the Dark Forest."

Silence followed her words. Then Lionstar whispered, "This day just gets better and better."

"And this is what I might have to face?" Sunpaw squeaked in plain terror. "Loads of dead cats and living, evil cats? Or...or _Redpaw_?" He stared at Skymoon and begged, "Please, tell me this isn't happening..."

Skymoon did not answer him. Her eyes seemed distant once more.

"Is there any other danger that is coming, Aura?" Dovewing asked eventually. She pressed hard against her daughter, and Owlpaw saw that she looked as terrified as Sunpaw was. _Skymoon is her only kit. Of course she would be afraid for her._

Aura narrowed her eyes. "The Forgotten are not all BloodClan," she said quietly. "A part of Skymoon's destiny is to save those who do not know their way. To bring back the lost to the glow of the stars." Recognition flared in Skymoon's eyes at those words. "SunClan is a lost cause—they are all bloodthirsty rogues who follow Breezepelt and Sol without question. BloodClan has no faith in StarClan, but they do believe in blood and results. And the Dark Forest..."

The tortoiseshell gave a small worn-out sigh. "Four armies," she murmured, "united beneath my father. Should I have remained, victory would have been inevitable. It was why I left, before my powers grew too strong. There must be four to stand against him."

Owlpaw frowned. _Me, Skymoon, Sunpaw or Redpaw and you?_

"I am a Guardian," Aura explained—whether she'd recognized Owlpaw's thoughts or not, she gave no indication. "I cannot fight. My duty is to guide and guard—nothing more. There will be four who bear a single Quarter each—I bear four Quarters of the Four, making a whole, a Guardian."

She turned to Skymoon. "A trained warrior of Time—that is _her_ Quarter—she has survived. Three others will join her, who bear Quarters of their own. They will make a deadly whole—they will be the Three and Fourth."

Owlpaw felt like she both understood yet didn't understand at all. _I'm a medicine cat,_ she thought dazedly. _I'm a medicine cat, but I've been chosen to defend against this coming threat?_ But Jayfeather was a medicine cat, too. He was one of the Three.

_But my fighting..._Owlpaw glanced uneasily at Lionstar. Were they thinking the same thing? _It's beyond what a medicine cat should know. I fight as well as a trained warrior! Have I walked the wrong path?_

_Yet...I can enter StarClan. I saved Stormbreeze. Only medicine cats should do that..._

"I understand your dilemma, young Owlpaw," Aura mewed. Owlpaw turned back to the wise young she-cat. "You wonder how it is possible that your paws walk in two very different worlds."

"She can't," Dovewing interrupted. "Owlpaw is a medicine cat, not a warrior!"

"Owlpaw is a curious she-cat," Aura answered calmly. "She can both fight and heal. She has a natural fighting instinct, and a head for herbs. A Tigermark has favoured her. I am surprised I did not see this sooner. I had my suspicions, of course, but I did not wish to believe until I had some evidence that truly set her apart."

_My walk into StarClan,_ Owlpaw realized, _and my return from it._

"And me?" Sunpaw asked in a small voice. "What...what can I do that sets me apart?"

"I do not know yet," Aura replied, in a surprisingly gentle voice. "That is why I have doubt. But you are the apprentice of Skymoon, a bearer of a Tigermark of time. Just as Dovewing was mentored by Lionstar, also a bearer of a Tigermark, and Owlpaw is mentored by Jayfeather, another bearer of a Tigermark. There is a very good chance you just may be the one."

Lionstar snorted. "Impressive how you notice all these connections," he remarked.

Aura shrugged. "It's what I have been doing since I came to ThunderClan."

"But I still don't understand," Sunpaw mewed, rising to his paws. "I'm just ordinary. I don't have any special talent. Redpaw's the smart one, the clever mind. It might be her instead. Runningleap..."

"...is her mentor, and a fine one at that," Aura purred. "Those of destiny do not always mentor those of destiny—though it is an act that has been commonly repeated. Bluestar—who once carried a Tigermark—mentored Firestar. Firestar mentored Brambleclaw and Cloudtail. Both did not carry Tigermarks, but both provide essential links that make those who _do_ carry Tigermarks a part in the omen."

"As she said, it's merely a good chance that you do," Skymoon told her apprentice. "But it remains to be seen if you are a Tigermark or not."

"I thought you could call on your foresight at will," Jayfeather interrupted curtly. He nodded once to Sunpaw and inquired, "So why don't you two know? I thought both of you could see into the future as I once saw so clearly into StarClan."

Aura frowned. "The Four are too complex for even I to understand," she answered. "Discovering a Tigermark is not as easy as it sounds. I knew Skymoon was the one because of her dreams. I learned Owlpaw was the one for her journey into StarClan."

She gave a quiet sigh. "I just pray that the third and fourth bearers make themselves known," she said. "The dark dawn is approaching."

"The fourth," Lionstar muttered. "Who is the fourth you keep speaking of?"

It was Skymoon who first spoke. "I had a dream of late," she announced, and her eyes were scared and sad. "They were omens—you remember the legends about the lions, tigers and leopards long before the Clans?" Even Owlpaw nodded. She'd been told many times about the three ancient Clans whose descendants bore their abilities. "They said where to find the second and third bearers of Tigermarks, but in a cryptic message, so the Dark Forest did not discover them first."

Dovewing frowned anxiously. "What did it say?"

"I am the tiger," Skymoon mewed. "But I must be joined by the leopard and lion for my power to be complete." She glanced at Sunpaw. "You are the descendant of the lion, you see," she told him. "You look exactly like Lionstar—but I am hesitant in believing you are the lion, the bearer of a Quarter of the Four, because the omen that dictates one who _can_ relive ancient omens—_mother to daughter, father to son_—does not speak of a grandfather to son."

Owlpaw was confused. _Mother to daughter, father to son?_

Skymoon gave a weary sigh. "It is a very long story. I'll tell you both about it later. But trust in me; I am the daughter of Dovewing, and for good reason. My mother received an omen long ago, that she would bring peace. My destiny is to bring such a thing—the omen has been passed down, mother to daughter. And the omen—_kin to the fire, bane of the tiger_—works the same way."

Owlpaw frowned. _And how would this apply to me, then?_

"You are the daughter of Hollythorn," Aura said, again taking Owlpaw by surprise with her perfectly-timed answer. "Hollythorn is the daughter of Bramblestar—who was the son of Tigerstar. _Bane to the tiger._ And your grandmother, Squirrelflight—she was the daughter of Firestar. _Kin to the fire._" She gave a small purr. "Of course, this also applied to your three other siblings, so I had to wait for evidence."

_Oh._ Having Aura explain things made everything seem perfectly simple in the end.

"And you, Sunpaw, you are kin to the fire and bane of the tiger also, as is your sister," said Skymoon. "What remains to be discovered is if the omen _mother to daughter, father to son_ can apply to you."

Sunpaw was baffled. At length he had no idea what to say and just studied his paws.

"But the leopard?" Dovewing prompted. "Is Owlpaw the leopard?"

"The leopard is another," mewed Aura. "Owlpaw is the fourth, to bring stability and peace to the three other chosen. The leopard is the one who I cannot understand nor find. But I do know that he will not be found here at the lake."

Everyone but she and Skymoon blinked in surprise at this. "Where else, then?" asked Lionstar.

"SkyClan, or near," Aura answered. "Skymoon saw a great red gorge in her dream of the leopard—it speaks only that the leopard, the bearer of a Quarter Tigermark, is connected to SkyClan in such a way that he does apply to the omen."

Lionstar suddenly gave a small, tired groan. "All of this new information will take me several days to make sense of," he muttered. Owlpaw felt exactly the same way—and she was certain Sunpaw did, too.

Aura nodded. "But the time for the progression in her destiny is upon us," she mewed. "A confirmed Tigermark bearer, and a suspected bearer, has been made known. But our time is running out. The prophecy awaits completion; Skymoon must find the leopard and bring SkyClan home."


	9. Dark Wings, Dark Words

**A/N: Hello, readers! And yet, where have my lovely guest reviewers got to? The Daughters trilogy isn't quite the same with the voices of beyond...**

**Nonetheless, here's another chapter; lots of interesting things happen here, including where the title came from - and gathering suspense for what is to come, very soon...**

* * *

Chapter Nine

DARK WINGS, DARK WORDS

* * *

"Lionstar," Aura meowed, leading the way back into the forest. "I want you to take the others back to the hollow, without me."

Lionstar looked back, but his eyes were narrowed so he was expressionless. "Why do you want to linger?" he asked quietly.

"I need to share some words, in private, with Owlpaw."

Skymoon stopped. "Owlpaw is one of us now," she protested. "If you need to speak with her—"

Aura silenced her with a calm, firm gaze. "Owlpaw needs to be with me for the time being, alone. Take Sunpaw to the hollow. Comfort him. Be his mentor." The words were unusually stern, and the apprentice himself was looking significantly uneasy. He kept exchanging a glance with the Three and his mentor.

Skymoon submitted. She curtly dipped her head, then padded away into the trees. The others went with her. Jayfeather shot Owlpaw a puzzled look, though he said nothing and followed his brother.

_He doesn't know what she'll talk to me about?_ Owlpaw's nervousness returned.

She felt a tail gently brush her flanks, and turned to meet Aura's reassuring gaze.

"I understand that this has been a lot for you, young one, to take in today."

Owlpaw shrugged and looked down, uncertain what to say.

"It was hard for me, too," Aura went on, a little sadly. "For so many moons, I have kept the secret of my lineage to myself. My father...you may not understand how...how strongly this will affect others who have known Sol."

_Like Lionstar._ Owlpaw remembered her mentor. _And Jayfeather. But Lionstar in particular. I don't understand why he would feel so much hatred and anger..._

"Would you walk with me?" Aura asked suddenly.

Owlpaw blinked in surprise, then nodded. She fell into step alongside the former rogue. Together they walked into the trees, auburn leaves falling on either side of them like raindrops.

After a moment Aura mewed, "Close to here, I was found for the first time by a ThunderClan patrol, a year or so to this day." She looked up at the trees and gave a small sigh. "Skymoon, a young, nervous apprentice, was a part of that patrol, as was Lionstar when he was but a warrior."

Owlpaw blinked in surprise. Skymoon, _nervous?_

Aura gave a soft _mrrow_. "Yes, it may come to startle you that Skypaw was once a very uneasy young apprentice—she had no idea how to make sense of her dreams," she explained. "It was only when I came and promised to help her control her powers that she grew more confident, wiser and stronger in the ways of a prophecy."

Owlpaw listened in growing wonder. She'd been a kit throughout the apprenticeship of Skymoon; and to hear the elders tell it, Skymoon had the most exhausting six and a half moons of her life—as did the whole Clan.

"I understand your thoughts about her," Aura continued, and Owlpaw flicked her ears back in embarrassment. "I believe Skymoon does as well. But she is not angry, and nor am I. Even a warrior blessed with extraordinary power can make mistakes." The tortoiseshell met Owlpaw's gaze. "She is frightened, Owlpaw. Frightened of what the future would bring—and when both of us see only shadow, she is frightened of what would happen if she was not strong enough to shoulder her destiny."

Owlpaw felt ashamed then. _Skymoon isn't as distant and moony as I thought..._

"And you are frightened, too," Aura mewed, and her tail ran soothingly along Owlpaw's back. "This can also be understood. It is natural for us to feel fear, and it is right to fear what we do. Learning that you have a paw in her destiny is something great and terrible."

_But what am I meant to do?_ Owlpaw looked down at the ground and sighed. _If I truly have some...tiger-thing, blessed with some bit of power by Time and stuff, whatever they're called, what is my duty I must uphold?_

Aura gave a soft, reassuring purr and rubbed her fur along Owlpaw's. "Take courage, little one," she said. "The Four have smiled upon you, and they have done so since your birth. Your Tigermark...I do believe that you hold the Tigermark of Fate." Owlpaw blinked in rising confusion, and Aura quickly explained. "You changed Stormbreeze's fate when you brought her back from StarClan. You changed _your_ fate when you demonstrated your power. And you changed your littermates' fates by fighting like a warrior the former day."

_Ravenpaw!_ Owlpaw jerked her head towards the trees around them. How were her littermates going? Were they doing well in their assessments? Would they be made warriors?

Aura gave another soft _mrrow_. "I believe your siblings are doing just fine," she mewed. "Which brings me to another point I must inform you of. I am aware that something extraordinary exists between you and Ravenpaw."

Owlpaw looked at Aura in faint surprise and rising hope. _She knows? She knows what this is?_

"It is a natural connection that exists only between two very close sisters," Aura explained with a distant sigh. "Blessed by StarClan—it is meant for those who are destined to go on a great journey."

_Could it exist between brothers?_ Owlpaw wondered.

Aura went on. "I am not surprised to discover that you and Ravenpaw share such a connection," she mewed. "You have been born with a Tigermark, Owlpaw. You are meant to go on a journey—but as medicine cat, you must have ties to your home. ThunderClan may have only one, and Jayfeather's muzzle is turning silver as the moons slip by." Owlpaw shivered; the mere thought of Jayfeather leaving the Clan—leaving _her_—was truthfully quite terrifying.

"This is not the first time a connection has existed between two ThunderClan sisters," Aura mewed. "Your grandmother and grand-aunt, Leafpool and Squirrelflight, in their youth they shared such a connection. Though Squirrelflight was not one of prophecy, she still followed Bramblestar. Their strong connection with one another allowed them to protect each other." Owlpaw listened wonderingly. "And you may be surprised to learn," Aura continued, "that Dovewing and Ivypool once would have had the same."

Owlpaw frowned. _So why didn't they?_

"The sisters became separated," Aura sighed. "Dovewing's power was made known, and Ivypool, envious of her sister's natural talents, was drawn into the Dark Forest. With evil taken into her heart, however purposefully, StarClan could not bless such a connection, especially not with one of the sisters being the Three, still young and in danger."

Owlpaw looked into the forest and wondered what Ravenpaw was doing. Had she finished her assessment? It was nearing sunhigh. She thought she felt a slight tug towards the shore—felt a twinge of Ravenpaw's contentment as she walked along the water's edge with several rodents swinging from her mouth. Her brothers and mentors trailed just behind.

"It is no mistake that you and Ravenpaw have been favoured," said Aura calmly, on the edges of Owlpaw's hearing. "One will protect the other. You have her warrior strengths. She has your natural wisdom in medicine. The link will still thrive so long as you remember that you are sisters—no matter how far apart you two may be."

Owlpaw turned back to Aura. _She speaks as if she has shared such a link before..._

But then the tortoiseshell was shaking her head. She must have seen the question in Owlpaw's eyes. "I was the only daughter of Sol," she murmured, "and my mother, a rogue named Thornberry."

Owlpaw tipped her head to one side. She'd never heard anything about Aura's mother.

"Sol was...entranced by her," Aura admitted quietly. "Drawn by her fur, a multitude of colours; her skill in hunting, her deadened nature. Thornberry's past is a story that must never be told—and when she left the Clan the instant I was old enough to eat prey, I was glad of it."

Owlpaw stared. _You never loved your mother?_ She could not imagine life without Hollythorn, especially with the absence of her blood father.

Aura gave a troubled sigh. "I have had a dark past," she admitted. "I have never loved my parents the way a kit should. Most likely, I never will. But it is good, for a Guardian; when I descend and take my place in the tunnels, it will be easier if I have no ties to the world above."

_The tunnels._ Owlpaw had learned about the strange place in her youth, and overheard snatches of conversation about it from her mentor—but she was yet to see it for herself.

"ThunderClan is the Clan I love," Aura mewed quietly. She paused on a small hill and Owlpaw stopped beside her. They had wandered quite far north into ThunderClan territory, and standing on the small, grassy knoll, they could see nearly the entirety of ThunderClan's forest. "Brace yourself, Owlpaw, for the dark days that will come; you, Ravenpaw and I—the daughters of the thorns."

* * *

The hollow was seething with excitement as Owlpaw hurried through the tunnel and into the clearing. Three very excited young cats were restlessly pacing around the clearing, saying to anyone and everyone of their great achievement.

Owlpaw's heart grew wondrously warm. She knew already, and she hurried towards her littermates with her chest swelling with pride.

"Owlpaw!" Ravenpaw gasped in delight—the black she-cat appeared out of nowhere and brushed her whiskers joyfully along her sister's. "Do you know? We're going to be made warriors today!"

"Congratulations," Aura purred, appearing just behind Owlpaw. She did not sound surprised, but none could mistake the purr in her voice.

Ravenpaw glanced curiously between Aura and her sister. "You smell like the forest."

_We went out,_ Owlpaw thought simply.

"Didn't Jayfeather need you, though?" Ravenpaw frowned. She nodded towards the medicine den. "He's clawing his own whiskers out over the fact Stormbreeze got up and went to the dirtplace herself."

Owlpaw glanced towards the den, suddenly a little nervous. Jayfeather needed her—and Stormbreeze should have known better than to move against a medicine cat's command!

"It's good to learn that Stormbreeze is recovering that quickly from her injuries," Ravenpaw commented, brushing against Owlpaw's flanks. "I thought only you could get away with antagonizing that old furball." Her whiskers twitched. "Not even Lionstar is safe!"

Owlpaw shot Ravenpaw a stern glance. _I don't _antagonize_ him,_ she corrected. But then her thoughts had carried her away from the clearing, back to Triumph Rock, back to the discovery that she possessed some totem of power. _We share a bond, a bond between sisters that means one will journey far away, and the other will remain behind._ Her claws slid into the soft earth beneath her. _But I don't want to go on a journey. I want to stay here and look after my Clan._

She felt her sister's gaze slide onto her. "Are you all right?" Ravenpaw mewed, sounding concerned. "I nearly didn't pass my assessment—I kept feeling this niggling anticipation and fear and dread in my gut, and it certainly didn't belong to me! Well, not all of it."

Owlpaw looked down. How was she to explain to Ravenpaw about her supposed power? That she was interwoven into a destiny that wasn't even hers?

_I don't want to stress you out any further at your own ceremony,_ she said at last, and turned her chin up to Highledge. Lionstar had just emerged from his den, the mentors of the three apprentices in tow. _I'll tell you later._

Ravenpaw gave a quick nod. "All right. But later, and not a moment after!" She gave Owlpaw a quick lick over the ear and jumped away, calling, "I'd better give myself a groom before Mother finds us!"

Owlpaw's whiskers twitched. _It might be too late for that._ Hollythorn was weaving amongst the excited cats, eyes searching for her kits. Only a few heartbeats later, she had pinned Graypaw's tail and was rasping her tongue up and down his pale fur.

"Get off!" he gasped. "I can do it myself!"

"You most certainly can_not_," Hollythorn retorted, pausing in her grooming for only a moment to look Graypaw sternly in the eye. "How can you reach the burr you've got tangled behind your ear? And I know full well that like Clawpaw, you never wash behind your ears!"

"Let her mother over you one last time," Moleclaw purred, padding over to his adopted kits. "Hollythorn probably won't have another chance."

"And thank StarClan for that!" Clawpaw announced. He sat down and hastily began to groom his tail.

Owlpaw felt warmth in her heart for a moment, seeing her littermates ready themselves for their warrior ceremony—and then a chill took its place. She recalled what Skymoon had said about Clawpaw. _He's named after a Dark Forest warrior, whose crimes must have been awful if Skymoon refuses to speak of them._

She shook herself. _Stop it. Clawpaw is my brother, and he's the most brotherly brother I've ever had. Besides Graypaw. Our aunt Mapleleaf was named after a Dark Forest she-cat, and Hollythorn says she was the best sister ever._

Her thoughts were cast aside in a heartbeat as Lionstar's voice rang around the hollow. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!"

As the excited whisperings of the Clan died down, and Moleclaw persuaded Hollythorn to let Graypaw go, Owlpaw immediately picked up on the distant protests coming from the medicine den.

"I already missed Sunpaw's and Redpaw's apprentice ceremony—I'm not missing out on Graypaw's, Ravenpaw's and Clawpaw's warrior ceremony! No matter _what_ you say, stubborn old badger!"

"If you move from this nest, I will confine you to the camp for the next moon!"

"I'm already stuck in the camp and missing out on the upcoming Gathering—I haven't much to lose in the next moon." Suddenly the entrance to the medicine den rattled and Stormbreeze limped out, attention already turned to the ceremony about to begin.

"Owlpaw!" the young warrior exclaimed in relief. "You can tell your mentor to stop being an old furball and let me see the ceremony!"

"So you've returned from your walk?" Jayfeather emerged from his den, and his blind blue eyes immediately found his apprentice. "Good. You can tell Stormbreeze to get back inside the medicine den."

Owlpaw scowled at both of them. _Exactly _how_ do I tell anyone anything?_

"Oh, let her go, Jayfeather." The speaker was Cherrypelt, who had padded over at the sounds of argument. She stood beside her daughter and mewed, "Stormbreeze will be fine. The ceremony won't take a moment."

"Not you, too," Jayfeather grumbled. At length he lashed his tail. "Fine. You go and watch the ceremony, if you must. Owlpaw...I suppose since they're your littermates, you'll be watching anyway. But I need your help with some marigold when the ceremony's over and all that."

Owlpaw nodded earnestly, forgetting for the moment that her mentor couldn't see. But she was certain he understood. She fell into step alongside Cherrypelt and Stormbreeze and hurried to find a good seat amongst the gathered Clan.

"Here." Cherrypelt deposited Owlpaw and Stormbreeze beside her other kits. "Now behave yourselves, for StarClan's sake."

Stormbreeze rolled her eyes. "I'm not a _kit_ anymore, Mother."

"You'll always be a kit in my eyes," Cherrypelt purred. She flicked her daughter's pelt with her pale ginger tailtip, then hurried away into the crowd.

Owlpaw's attention was already turned to her brothers and sister. They sat in the clearing with their fur sleek and groomed, looking wonderful. She spotted Hollythorn and Moleclaw standing off to one side, pride flashing in both their eyes. Her siblings' mentors were standing just beneath Highledge with Lionstar just before them, amber eyes closed in content.

"ThunderClan," he began, "we are gathered here to perform one of my favourite duties; the naming of new warriors!" The Clan yowled in approval, and Lionstar let his gaze meet each apprentice's in turn. "Ravenpaw, Graypaw and Clawpaw have trained hard for six moons, and they are ready to become warriors!"

Owlpaw nodded emphatically. _They're _more_ than ready,_ she thought. For a brief moment, she wished that she could be standing with them, waiting to receive her own warrior name. She wished she could look into Lionstar's eyes, hear what he asked of every apprentice ascending to become a warrior, and answer with fullest certainty in her heart, _I do._

Lionstar turned to their mentors. "Do you believe your apprentices are ready to accept the burden of responsibility all warriors must carry?"

Blossomfall nodded. "They have trained hard. ThunderClan will be glad of a warrior with Ravenpaw's cunning."

"And Graypaw's hunting," Hazeltail purred, and mentor and apprentice shared a look worthy of belonging to the closest brother and sister.

"Clawpaw's claws will protect his Clan, and will be feared by the others," Dewclaw declared.

Lionstar turned away from the mentors and looked up to the sky. "I, Lionstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn."

Owlpaw wondered if they could even be watching. Did they have the strength to look into the living world, if what Jayfeather said was true and the living-dead connection was that weak?

"Oh, some of us have the same power we used to hold six years ago," a voice whispered suddenly in Owlpaw's ear. She twisted around, and her mouth fell open in shock. Right behind her sat a familiar brown tom with uneven tufts of fur, pale golden eyes sparkling with more than warmth. _How is he here?_

"You were told today," he went on, and his voice seemed to drown out Lionstar's. It filled every corner of Owlpaw's mind. The tom purred and leaned close. "But you weren't told about me—or you didn't tell them."

Owlpaw blinked at him, more confused than anything else. _How can I tell if I can't speak?_

The tom rasped his tongue over her eartip, as though greeting a long-lost friend. "There are other ways to say it," he whispered. He leaned back with solemn eyes. "Be careful, little one. Owls shouldn't hunt on a moonless night."

"Owlpaw, what are you doing?"

Stormbreeze's voice made Owlpaw snap her head towards her in surprise. The injured warrior was staring at her in amusement. "You're twisting and twitching like you have ants in your pelt!"

Owlpaw glanced over her shoulder, but the StarClan tom had gone. But on the air, she caught the faintest scent of starshine.

_Did I just receive my first omen from StarClan?_ Owlpaw frowned and blankly turned back to Lionstar and her littermates beyond. _Did Jayfeather sense it, too?_ She twisted around again, peering towards the medicine den. Jayfeather didn't show any sign of anything being out of the ordinary.

"Owlpaw, you're missing it!" Stormbreeze hissed, and her tailtip whisked across Owlpaw's muzzle. The medicine cat apprentice jumped and quickly snapped her attention back to the front.

_My littermates matter more for now._

Lionstar had called Graypaw forward. Owlpaw's heart swelled with pride; her brother looked so handsome, so grown up. "From this moment, you shall be known as Graywind. StarClan honours your wit and personality, and we welcome you as a full warrior to ThunderClan."

_Graywind,_ Owlpaw thought, as she watched her new-named brother lick his leader's shoulder. _It's a good name. It suits him._ Graywind stepped back, and Lionstar called Clawpaw forward next.

"From this moment, you shall be known as Clawstrike. StarClan honours your strength and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior to ThunderClan."

Clawstrike's eyes glowed as he rasped his tongue over Lionstar's shoulder and stepped back to join his brother. Owlpaw sorely wished she could purr, not for the first time; Clawstrike was another good name. _If Lionstar's good at one thing, it's giving names that will suit the warrior._

She felt her sister's sudden anticipation strike her in the gut, and Owlpaw snapped her eyes to her sister, standing quite alone before Lionstar while her brothers looked on. _What will he call her?_

"Ravenpaw," Lionstar began, "from this moment you shall be known as Ravenwing. StarClan honours your cunning and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior to ThunderClan."

_Ravenwing,_ Owlpaw thought, her heart as warm as the sun. _Your name is Ravenwing, dear sister._

New-named Ravenwing was softly purring as she rasped her tongue over Lionstar's shoulder and stepped back to join her brothers. Only the whole Clan was beginning to cheer, Hollythorn's voice being the loudest of all.

"Graywind! Clawstrike! Ravenwing!"

Owlpaw did not need to cheer. Her eyes found her littermates'; Ravenwing's happiness matched her younger sister's, and though Owlpaw could not call the new names of her brothers and sister, she thought them with all her heart, and they knew.

_Graywind, Clawstrike, Ravenwing! I am so proud of you!_

* * *

On the night of the Gathering the Clan was restless—especially the newest warriors and apprentices. "ThunderClan has much to report!" Owlpaw overheard Bumblestripe boasting to his mate, Dovewing. "And with the announcement of new warriors, we will be stronger than ever!"

Dovewing purred and butted her head against Bumblestripe's flanks. "We're already the strongest Clan," she replied warmly.

Just beyond, Seednose and Yellownose were having a discussion with Runningleap and Patchwhisker. Owlpaw listened closely—and then her heart skipped a beat. They were talking about ShadowClan!

"This morning Redpaw detected ShadowClan scent inside our borders," Runningleap mewed darkly. "Her nose is never wrong, if I've learned anything about her as my apprentice for a quarter moon."

Patchwhisker sniffed. "Speaking of the apprentices..."

"If this is about you not getting an apprentice again," Seednose began with a roll of her eyes, "then I swear to StarClan—"

"I was the _perfect_ choice for mentor to Sunpaw!" Patchwhisker growled. "And what does Father do? He knows of my intentions and wishes to mentor an apprentice, and he chooses young Skymoon over me! She hasn't even been a warrior for two season-lengths!"

"And she's been through much more as an apprentice than most warriors experience in a lifetime," Yellownose said quietly. He looked past the aggravated warrior to where Skymoon lay, curled up outside the apprentices' den and speaking with Redpaw and Sunpaw.

Owlpaw was a little surprised. Skymoon had never spent excessive time with them before. _Is she finally taking Aura's advice into account?_

"Skymoon is a good choice to help guide Sunpaw to the path of a warrior," Runningleap agreed. "I am honoured I have the chance to share in the mentorship alongside her."

Patchwhisker flicked an eartip. "More so than me?"

"Just as much so," Runningleap purred, playfully cuffing Patchwhisker's ear. "My goodness, you're as bad as your sister!"

"Spottedheart?" Patchwhisker checked. "And _I'm_ as bad as her?"

"Yes, stubborn and persistent," Seednose purred.

"But going back to ShadowClan," Yellownose interrupted, "whose scent did Redpaw detect?"

Runningleap's countenance darkened almost at once. "She didn't know—nor did I. Moleclaw didn't recognize it either, and he's older than the both of us combined," he murmured. "But it was ShadowClan scent—and it was definitely fresh."

Owlpaw swished her tailtip uneasily from side to side. Did Hookclaw somehow have a part to play in it? She'd been practicing her shadow walk ever since the battle assessment she'd taken part in, and she was getting really good at it. Her legs hurt less and less each time she practiced it. With leaf-bare coming, Owlpaw was often left alone in the medicine den while Jayfeather went out, or was sent to gather herbs herself. With Stormbreeze on the mend, there was little to worry about besides the thought of leaf-bare on its way.

_I'll ask him at this Gathering._ She flicked her tailtip in renewed excitement at the thought of chatting with the ShadowClan warriors again.

"Someone's excited for the Gathering."

Owlpaw looked over her shoulder. Stormbreeze was watching her, a playful glint in her green eyes.

_Yeah, I am,_ Owlpaw told herself, and sat down in front of the gray warrior. Stormbreeze was recovering well from the WindClan attack. Many of her smaller cuts had healed and Jayfeather had permitted gentle exercises to help her strength return. She was too weak to go to this Gathering, but most likely she'd be allowed to attend the next.

Stormbreeze gave a wistful sigh and looked towards where her brothers were gathered. Dustfoot and Whiteblaze were sharing a rabbit with Larkflight and Ferndust. "Those two always seem to be together now," she purred. "But little Larkflight has always been good-natured towards the she-cats in the den." She turned to Owlpaw. "You know that when Branchpaw and Ferndust were first found in the wilderness and brought to the Clan as kits, Cherrypelt had me and my brothers and Dovewing had Skymoon, we all shared the nursery?"

Owlpaw blinked in surprise. "Fernkit and Branchkit were the eldest, naturally," Stormbreeze mewed, "me and my brothers were the ones in the middle, and Skykit was the youngest, just a tiny bit of fluff. Even then, she proved that she was stronger than she looked."

She sighed. "I miss those days, when we were kits, no responsibility, nothing dividing us, no spooky prophecies..."

Owlpaw stifled an uncomfortable twitch. Her talk with Aura, learning about the Tigermark thing, had not left her mind. Nor had the StarClan spirit's unexpected visit during her littermates' ceremony. _I still don't know his name...and I still can't figure out his omen._

"Owlpaw!" Jayfeather's curt mew snapped Owlpaw out of her thoughts. She looked towards him guiltily, to see him standing expectantly near the thorn barrier. The cats who were going to the Gathering were flocking all around him, restlessly pacing the clearing.

_Sorry!_ Owlpaw jumped to her paws and began to head away, then remembered about Stormbreeze. She stopped and twisted around, meeting the she-cat's wistful green gaze. _I'll tell you _all_ about it,_ she promised.

Stormbreeze's whiskers twitched. "Go and have fun," she mewed, "and I expect to hear from you every last detail of what happened there, got it?"

Owlpaw gave a quick nod, then turned and hurried to her mentor's side. Before Jayfeather could speak, she suddenly heard pawsteps pounding right behind her. Owlpaw whisked around to see her littermates standing before her, looking more grown up than she'd ever seen them.

"I can't _wait!_" Ravenwing lashed her white-tipped tail and drummed her paws restlessly on the ground. "Can you? I bet you're just going to go bragging to all the other medicine cats at the Gathering about us, aren't you?"

Owlpaw's whiskers twitched, and she cuffed her sister good-naturedly over the head. _If I _could_ brag, I would, of course._

"You think Frogpaw and Marshpaw will be fooled?" Clawstrike wondered aloud. "We could still pretend we're apprentices, then absolutely pummel them to the ground!"

Graywind flicked his eartip. "We're _warriors_ now," he reminded his brother, "and they've been in training longer than us—they're probably warriors, too..."

The rest of her littermates' conversations began to drift to the back of her subconscious as Owlpaw turned her eyes to the warriors who were going. She caught glimpses of them—Thrushsong was finally able to rejoin her own littermates in going to the Island, and Bumblestripe and Blossomfall were wishing Briarlight a good evening, and Ivypool was sharing some last-moment news with Lionstar who was descending from Highledge...

_There._ She saw Aura, standing warily at the edge of the camp with solemn amber eyes. She was speaking in low voices with Skymoon, Sunpaw, Runningleap and Redpaw. Owlpaw felt a peculiar feeling flutter in her chest. _What's going on?_

She frowned and extended her senses, desperately trying to shut way all other sounds and listen to their conversation. But she could only catch snippets—Ravenwing wasn't playing the game with her; she was boasting to Hazeltail and Berrynose about something...

"Whatever they're talking about," an aged voice intruded, "I doubt it's about Tigermarks."

Owlpaw blinked and turned towards her mentor. Jayfeather's blind blue eyes were narrowed in a dark expression. "I've never seen Aura look so worried," he muttered. "Not since...well, not since the greencough epidemic when we thought Skymoon had gone to StarClan. Something's going on..."

_Can you hear them?_ Owlpaw wondered. She turned back towards the little group. Aura's fur was starting to bush up, and so was Skymoon's. Sunpaw was looking more indignant than uneasy, and Redpaw was just glancing curiously from warrior to former rogue to brother. Runningleap shared her expression. _What in the good name of cats _are_ they talking about?_

Then she watched Sunpaw turn sharply to Skymoon and speak angrily with her. Skymoon's ears flattened and she responded just as crossly. After a moment, fur spiked, she looked away and muttered under her breath. Redpaw ran her tail along Sunpaw's backbone to soothe him, and Runningleap dipped his head. Then he firmly placed a tail on Redpaw's shoulder, and with Sunpaw trailing behind, he led them across the clearing to the apprentices' den. Skymoon, dark blue eyes filled with relief and fear, watched him go.

Owlpaw blinked in astonishment. _Isn't she taking him to the Gathering? _Neither_ of them? But they need to be announced! They need to get their first experience of the warriors of other Clans!_

"Odd," Jayfeather muttered. "I'd try to get something out of Skymoon, if I were you. This isn't looking good, whatever just happened."

Lionstar and Ivypool had halted in their conversation to watch the apprentices head back to their dens. They wore a startled expression. Then their eyes flashed to Skymoon and Aura. Lionstar leaned close to Ivypool and murmured something in her ear; the white tabby nodded and briskly padded to the gathered group of warriors. Lionstar took a slight detour, swiftly walking to Skymoon and Aura.

"Is anyone else noticing this?" Jayfeather hissed in disbelief. "_Really_." He made to step forward, but Ivypool was suddenly in his way.

"We need to head off," she informed him coolly. "Lionstar and Skymoon will be joining us later."

"Is this about her destiny?" Jayfeather growled. "If so, I believe the medicine cats should also be present." His tail curled around Owlpaw's flanks.

Ivypool glanced curiously at Owlpaw for a moment, before her piercing gaze flicked back to Jayfeather's. "You can stay, I suppose," she relented, "but Owlpaw will need to head on without you."

"Owlpaw should hear this," Jayfeather began, but Ivypool cut him off.

"We're going to be late if we're held up like this. Jayfeather, are you or aren't you staying behind?" Ivypool strode on without waiting for an answer, calling for the warriors to begin heading off to the Gathering.

Jayfeather stifled a frustrated sigh, then turned to Owlpaw. "Do as she says," he muttered wearily. "I'll let you know what this was all about when we get back to the Island." His eyes narrowed briefly. "_Behave_ yourself, will you? Skymoon's told me a bit about how friendly you're getting with Hookclaw."

Owlpaw bristled almost at once. _There's nothing wrong with talking to him!_

"Hey, Owlpaw, have your paws turned into stones?" Ravenwing was bringing up the rear of the moving warriors, but lingered, looking expectantly at her sister. She jerked her chin meaningfully to the moonlit forest beyond. "Come on, we'll miss the Gathering!"

Owlpaw turned back to her mentor, but he was already padding across the clearing to where his brother was sitting with Skymoon and Aura. _Not even a goodbye?_

"Owlpaw!"

_I'm coming, I'm coming!_ Suddenly filled with a familiar excitement for the Gatherings, Owlpaw turned and hurried to the thorn barrier. Falling into step alongside Ravenwing, they padded out of the hollow and into the night beyond.

* * *

"You've been doing _what?_"

Owlpaw lashed her tail. Ravenwing wasn't taking the news as she'd hoped.

_You introduced me to ShadowClan before,_ she protested angrily. _You had no problem with Cedarfall and Nightwing._

"That's because they're okay for ShadowClan cats," Ravenwing snapped. "But Hookclaw? Shadowcloud? Smoketail? Those are dangerous warriors, and you shouldn't be near them, let alone talking with them!" She groaned. "I thought you were with the medicine cats when you weren't with me on the Island!"

_And Jayfeather thought I was with you when I wasn't with the medicine cats on the Island,_ Owlpaw sighed inside—to herself, not to Ravenwing. She turned pointedly to her sister. _Hookclaw really isn't so bad. Besides, we're allowed to talk and share news._

Ravenwing glared at Owlpaw. "And how do you share news with Hookclaw?"

Owlpaw bristled. _I manage._ Her patience was running short. _I want you to come and meet them. They're okay, really. They're interested in meeting you._

"I hate Hookclaw," Ravenwing growled. "He's the son of that mad leader Rowanstar."

_So is Tigerheart, and he isn't bad, is he?_ Owlpaw countered.

Ravenwing sighed. "You've inherited my stubbornness," she muttered, and fixed her sister with a worried stare. "Owlpaw, I really wouldn't trust those ShadowClan cats if I were you. They're naturally shifty—cats like Cedarfall and Nightwing are all right, they're actually _approachable_, but Hookclaw..." She shook her head. "I don't think he has his head screwed on the right way."

Owlpaw glared at her. _Are you coming or aren't you?_

Ravenwing gave an impatient sigh. "I want to talk to some other cats first," she said finally. "You're welcome to tag along, you know." She looked ahead—the tree bridge was almost in sight, and the moon was rising quickly. Ivypool was preparing to scramble across the fallen tree. "Perhaps we're the last to arrive. I hope there's some time to share tongues with the other Clans before the Gathering begins."

Owlpaw thought of Hookclaw. He was probably waiting for her, wondering how she was going with her shadow walking. She was getting quite good at it now. She'd been shadow walking the whole way to the Island, and her paws only ached a little.

She glanced behind her. Jayfeather, Skymoon, Aura and Lionstar still hadn't caught up—or perhaps they were already on their way.

Owlpaw closed her eyes and shuddered. _They've never been like this before. Skymoon can see into the future—what if she's seen something bad? _Suddenly she was scared. She couldn't help but feel as though something terrible was going to happen tonight. Turning her eyes to the stars, she saw black clouds swarming on the horizon, and an icy wind glided across the lake, sending silvery ripples against the stony shore.

Her feelings of unease didn't simmer as she scrambled carefully across the slippery trunk, Ravenwing right behind her—nor did they diminish as she waited for the rest of her Clan to cross. Ivypool stood at the edge of the ferns, starting to wither in leaf-fall's chills; then she raised her tabby tail high and prepared to lead the way into the Island.

"Hold a moment!"

Owlpaw looked hopefully at the tree bridge—to her immense relief she saw Lionstar scrambling across it. Jayfeather and Skymoon were just behind him. They looked only a little breathless, though she guessed they had run the whole way.

_How did they get here so quickly?_

As Skymoon leapt down from the tree bridge, her pelt seemed to shimmer—just for a moment—with cyan dapples. Owlpaw frowned. _Oh._

Anxiety twisted in her stomach. _Where's Aura?_

"I was wondering if you'd ever show up," Ivypool meowed dryly.

"Apologies." Lionstar curtly dipped his head to his deputy. "There was much to discuss."

"Is everything all right?" Ivypool glanced at her niece. "I hope it wasn't anything bad."

Skymoon lowered her eyes and didn't answer.

"Come on." Jayfeather shoved past the white tabby and led the way into the ferns. "No point waiting any longer."

Ravenwing snorted with amusement, and the tension that had befallen the Clan lifted. Lionstar gave a weak purr and followed his brother, and the Clan soon followed. After a few heartbeats of shoving her way through slimy undergrowth, Owlpaw emerged into the edge of the Gathering clearing, only to have her senses assaulted by a flood of scents and sound.

"I'll join you later," Ravenwing promised. She glanced at her brothers, who were hurrying just beyond to meet the WindClan and RiverClan apprentices with Jaggedstep and Frostshine. "In the meantime...you know. Brothers." She gave a small purr, brushed her nose against Owlpaw's, and hurried away.

Owlpaw quickly searched the clearing. _Where...?_ Then she spotted them, sitting at the edge of the clearing. Hookclaw was speaking lightly with his brother, Smoketail, and his sister, Gingerfleck. Shadowcloud, the mysterious black she-cat with a pelt of night, was with them, delicately running a tongue over her forefoot. She raised her tail and hurried towards them.

Hookclaw turned towards her, and his eyes lit up at once. "Owlpaw!" he purred, rising to his paws. "So good to see you."

Owlpaw ducked her head.

"How have you been practicing?" Shadowcloud inquired through slanted eyes.

Owlpaw sat down and curled her tail over her paws. "She approached us quite silently," Hookclaw noted, glancing at the sleek black she-cat. "I can see she's been practicing."

"Hmph." Smoketail curled his lip. "I did better when I was a _moon_ old."

"Oh, shut up, furball." Gingerfleck gave him a shove. "She's doing her best."

"Sometimes _the best_ isn't _enough_," Shadowcloud mewed.

Owlpaw frowned at her. _I wasn't born in ShadowClan. Give me a break._

Hookclaw seated himself just in front of her. "So, Owlpaw, how have you been?" he asked lightly. "Or how has ThunderClan been, more to the point. Still fighting over rabbits and mice with WindClan?"

Owlpaw shrugged.

"Yes, yes, ask the mute for news of her Clan," Shadowcloud yawned. "Why didn't her littermates go with her? According to Moleclaw they have a 'unique connection' between them."

_Not my brothers,_ Owlpaw thought. _Just Ravenwing._ She shot a glance across the clearing and found her sister with her brothers and the young warriors, boasting to Nettlepaw and Silverpaw of WindClan, and Splashpaw and Mudpaw of RiverClan about something. _Maybe their assessments. _She shivered. _Are they talking about me, how well I did in their fight?_

"They've been in training for quite some time, if memory serves," Gingerfleck remarked. "I wonder if they're warriors yet."

Owlpaw swallowed the pride rising in her chest. _Let Lionstar announce it to the whole lake._

"You must be close to earning your medicine cat name and privileges, then," Hookclaw realized. He sounded kind. "I wonder what kind of name Jayfeather would give to his very talented apprentice."

Owlpaw shrugged. Jayfeather was sitting with the other medicine cats—they were discussing something in low voices between them. Even Lightbreeze was listening and paying close attention. She suddenly felt anxious. Should she be with them? She made to get up and move away.

"Oh, it's probably nothing," Shadowcloud sighed, flicking the tip of her long, thin tail. "Medicine cats are always yabbering on about herbs."

Owlpaw frowned. Shadowcloud was wily, even for a ShadowClan cat. She was always disdainful and unfriendly, though she seemed to be a good friend of Hookclaw's. _Maybe even his mate?_

She flicked her tailtip sadly. She would never have a mate—she could almost sense her mentor's rage if he ever discovered his apprentice was threatening to break the medicine cat code. The code had been one of the first things he'd made her swear absolute loyalty to. "The trouble that follows broken codes is just not worth it," he'd warned dangerously.

Remembering the story of his lineage and parentage, Owlpaw finally understood.

"Let her be, Shadowcloud," Hookclaw frowned. "Owlpaw is dedicated to her duties." He blinked and dipped his head to her. "She's a very astute young she-cat. ThunderClan should be very _proud_ to have her." His eyes twinkled. "I know that I am. I'm very proud to have such hardworking kin."

Owlpaw's ears burned, and she ducked her eyes.

"Careful there," Smoketail growled, flicking his tailtip against his brother's flanks. "Don't go falling in love, now."

Hookclaw's whiskers twitched. "Whatever made you think that? I'm far too preoccupied with my duties as my brother's deputy to think about taking a mate—especially a medicine cat." His words were even, but his eyes held a dark expression. It made Owlpaw shiver.

An icy breeze suddenly whispered over the trees, shaking and knocking their barren branches. Owlpaw fluffed up her fur, but there seemed something unnatural about the chill. The shadows were long and dark and empty, and she still couldn't ignore a rising sense of danger that had nothing to do with being around cats from other Clans.

"Owlpaw?" Hookclaw's mew sounded as though it was coming from a long way off. "Are you all right?"

But Owlpaw, for all her sharpened hearing, hardly heard him. Her attention seemed drawn to a certain spot in particular, to something she couldn't quite see because Toadstep was standing in the way, chatting with Tangleheart of RiverClan. The two toms walked further into the Gathering, discussing business between their Clans—and from behind them appeared a small brown tom with tufted fur.

Owlpaw felt a leap in her chest. _I know you, all too well!_

But before she could move, he spoke. "Be careful, Owlpaw. Beware darkness. They contain the shadows of their pasts."

_Whose pasts?_ Owlpaw blinked urgently at him. _Tell me, please!_

"Look to the moon to guard the sky," the spirit mewed, "for it leads to a brighter dawn."

Owlpaw looked up at the dark night sky. Clouds were bordering on the edges of the moon's shine. Dread curled in her heart like a snake, and she turned back to the StarClan cat. _There's danger coming—real danger, isn't there?_ It hit her. _And that's what Skymoon was talking about, with Aura, with Lionstar and Jayfeather. That was what you warned me of during my littermates' warrior ceremony. What is coming? What must I do?_

The small tom bowed his head. "Protect yourself, Owlpaw. They come for you."

Owlpaw's eyes widened. _My littermates—what of them?_

"They will be safe, so long as you are." His amber eyes narrowed. "They are not here for you, but for those who betrayed them long ago. Vengeance brews in the hearts of the bitter for as long as it takes for them to strike."

His expression filled with sorrow. "I am sorry, Owlpaw. A tiger alone cannot stand against such evil, and nor can you, balancer, protector, watcher and listener. Beware, little one. StarClan willing, we will ensure the prophecy survives—for the sake of the generations who are to come."

* * *

**A/N: Great StarClan, this took forever to write! But yay, Owlpaw's littermates! Which one is your favourite name: Graywind, Clawstrike or Ravenwing? And if you have any suggestions for Owlpaw's eventual name (I have a few ideas but I'm readily taking them!) do share!**

**Next time, chapter ten: Shadows of the Past. There'll be action, suspense, drama and mystery! Well, there'll be action, suspense and drama. Mystery just made it sound better. Hang around, lovely readers, the darkness is closing in!**


	10. Shadows of the Past

**A/N: Finally, a long Gathering where I can write out the Clans sharing news with one another! I was starting to lose hope...and thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter. They all made me extremely happy :)**

**Onward.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

SHADOWS OF THE PAST

* * *

"I think it's tonight." Skymoon turned urgently to the cats gathered around her, fighting to control the rising terror in her chest. "The dream I had a few moons ago, I think they're going to make it real this night."

As she had half-expected, Jayfeather's and Lionstar's mouths were hanging open in disbelief. They'd already bristled their fur at the mention of Redwillow, and the deaths of their Clanmates and the others who'd served the Dark Forest seasons ago. They'd already closed their eyes and hissed in fear at the mention of the Place Of No Stars and their slowly-gaining strength and anger against the living, existing Clans.

Even Aura looked a little afraid.

"Skymoon was right to keep Sunpaw and Redpaw here, with Runningleap to guard over them," she mewed solemnly. "We do not know which one possesses the Tigermark, but so will the Dark Forest. They may try to take both lives, to be certain that the prophecy will be rendered incomplete."

Jayfeather hissed in fear, and his tail lashed. "If they're going to attack tonight, why did you let Owlpaw go to the Gathering with the others?"

"She is safer divided from the others, and in the protection of the warrior, than she would be here," Aura answered, before Skymoon could even think of a reasonable response. "And Owlpaw needs to go to this Gathering." Her eyes narrowed. "There is a message she needs to hear, and where StarClan's will is strongest, so it will be easier for a spirit to descend to the mortal world."

"Spirit?" Jayfeather flicked his ears forward. "What spirit?"

_The one who has formed a connection with her._ Skymoon hadn't missed the strange way Owlpaw had been behaving during her littermates' warrior ceremony. She was looking over her shoulder, paying the same kind of careful attention she always harboured when communicating with her Clanmates. Her insight told her of the StarClan warrior—a small brown tom with a ruffled pelt.

"We understand very well now that Owlpaw has a connection to StarClan that is so strong, it can exceed the damaged barriers," Lionstar meowed quietly. "I'm unsurprised to hear that StarClan whispers in her sensitive ears."

_StarClan can speak with the bearers of Tigermarks,_ Skymoon remembered. How else had she been able to enter the stars through her apprenticeship, to hear the messages Firestar, Hollyleaf and Yellowfang had for her?

"But what kind of darkness is coming?" Jayfeather turned pointedly to Skymoon, jolting her from her thoughts. "Is it something that can be fought?"

Skymoon gave a grim nod. "But not easily." _Something I sense that only I can do—that I only have the advantage against._ "The Dark Forest grows stronger every day—Mapleshade attempted the lives of Splashpaw and Mudpaw and the two older apprentices. She sent Nightmares to torment me while I slept—and she is just one warrior."

"She is one of the oldest who exists in the Forest," Aura mewed. "The only other so known to us is Silverhawk, their new leader, but he is needed to ensure that proceedings between the Place Of No Stars, the Forgotten, BloodClan and SunClan are still firm."

Skymoon shivered in fear and lashed her tail. "How many former Dark Forest warriors have gone to this Gathering, Lionstar?"

Lionstar frowned. "Ivypool, Mousewhisker, Blossomfall and I..."

_All the cats who I have seen die before my eyes._ Skymoon bristled. _I won't let them have them. I won't!_

"There are many more in the other Clans," she said aloud, thinking of all the other cats who she had seen die in her dream. "But the Tigermarks will be safe." _I must protect Owlpaw._

"I will remain behind, guard over the apprentices," Aura meowed. "They come for me—they will not find me at the Island."

Lionstar narrowed his eyes. "They come because you carry their blood."

Aura bristled. "You carry the wind in yours, and yet you fight against them, do you not? So do I, and I am not ashamed to fight back against my own." Her eyes darkened. "My father is not worthy of me."

Jayfeather turned to his brother. "She speaks true."

Lionstar sighed. "Fine. Remain behind—I trust you will look after Redpaw and Sunpaw."

Aura bowed her head. "With my life."

"Jayfeather, Skymoon..." Lionstar turned his eyes to the sky. "We are late enough for this Gathering."

"Time is no problem," Skymoon reminded him, leaping to her paws. "But we are aware of what we must do?"

Jayfeather lifted his chin. "I will share this news with the other medicine cats."

"And I with the other leaders," Lionstar promised. "If they would listen to me."

"Even Sedgestar would be a fool to not heed such a warning," Aura said earnestly. "She does care for her Clan, as a mother would for her kits. And deep inside, she knows that she owes you her life. She refuses to show it for the sake of the war, but she remembers it—and she waits for that chance to honour it."

Lionstar's amber eyes slanted, but he nodded once to her and rose to his paws. "Let us go," he rumbled. He nodded to his brother and to Skymoon. "I trust you'll get us there on time?"

Skymoon nodded and felt her sleeping powers stir. "Look after us," she whispered to Aura.

Aura nodded once. "I intend to. Listen and look, Skymoon—we cannot hide our dark pasts forever."

* * *

"There they are!" Lionstar called. Just beyond, dark shapes were crossing the tree bridge and descending to the Island shore.

Skymoon nodded her relief and drew back her powers of Time Manipulation. She felt breathless—it had been a long time since she had last used her enhanced ability for so long.

"Save your strength," Jayfeather warned. "You'll be needing it if you're right."

_For once, I sincerely hope I'm not._ Skymoon cast a glance at the night sky—she didn't miss the black clouds swelling on the horizon, slowly but surely making their way towards the moon. _A storm is coming to the lake, and we must all be ready for the chaos that will come of it._

Lionstar raised his voice as they drew near. "Hold a moment!" In a fluid bound he leapt onto the tree bridge and began to climb his way across it.

Skymoon let Jayfeather leap up before her, then drew a deep breath and followed them. The rest of ThunderClan had crossed—and she sensed the other Clans had already arrived at the Island. For a brief moment she thought of Duckfeather and her RiverClan friends—how were they holding out? Reedstar never announced it, but she knew that the poison still fouled the edges of their rivers and made the fish sickly and uncomfortable to eat...

She crossed the shining water beneath her and lightly landed on the sandy shore. As she straightened and gave her body a quick stretch, she sensed eyes watching her with question. Skymoon shot the watcher a brief glance.

_Owlpaw._ Fear clenched her heart. _Stay close to your sister, I beg of you._ Owlpaw was close to Ravenwing's side. After a moment her gaze averted, turning away. Skymoon stifled an uneasy sigh. _She still has no idea what to make of all she has learned in the past few days._

And nor had she—telling Sunpaw, her own apprentice, that he possibly had a paw in her destiny had filled him with terror. It must have filled Owlpaw with the same. Skymoon blinked and looked to the front of the gathered group. Lionstar was sharing words with Ivypool. As worry fluttered in her aunt's eyes, she looked low. _He's hinting of the danger that is to come to the Island tonight._

Her eyes sought her mother—Dovewing soundlessly wove her way towards her as the signal was given to move into the Island. _Stay safe,_ Skymoon thought as Owlpaw's tawny-and-white fur vanished in a river of ThunderClan pelts.

"You look anxious," Dovewing murmured upon greeting.

Skymoon fell into step alongside her as they pushed through the withering ferns. "Mother, whatever you do, stay close to a group of ThunderClan warriors this night," she murmured.

Dovewing's eyes rounded in fear. "What's going on?"

_It'll take too long to explain._ "Please, Mother, trust me on this," Skymoon said quietly. She met her gaze until Dovewing lowered it.

"I trust you, of course, love," she mewed. "Come find me later and tell me what's going on." Her eyes drifted to the front. "Lionstar and Jayfeather look just as anxious as you. Well, from what I saw of that old medicine cat, before he barged his way into the Island."

They emerged onto the edge of the clearing and immediately the stench and sound of the other Clans filled the air. "I need to speak with my friends," Skymoon mewed. "Find out how their Clan has been faring in these grim times."

Dovewing blinked in sudden confusion. "Where's Aura?"

"She's remaining behind with the apprentices."

"Hmm." Dovewing suddenly turned to her daughter. "Skymoon, I understand that it's been a big change for you to mentor an apprentice—you were made a warrior so _soon_, but you're more than ready for it." Her eyes glowed. "I'm _very proud_ to see that you're mentoring Lionstar's grandson, and I'm certain he is, too."

_Sunpaw. _Skymoon hoped he was all right, he and his sister both. _If the Tigermarks are lost this night..._

Redwillow flashed in her mind, and his sneering voice filled her ears. _You can't save them. You can try, but you just can't._

She shook him from her thoughts and brushed her nose briefly against her mother's cheek. "I am honoured to be his mentor," she muttered. "Be careful, Dovewing." She turned away before her mother could call her back, and vanished into the crowd of pelts that brushed and flooded around her.

It didn't take her long to find her friends. Immediately her spirits lifted, and Skymoon raised her tail upon approach. "I hope the fish have been swimming well," she mewed warmly.

Duckfeather purred and rose to her paws. "As I hope the mice are stirring in the woods," she answered, and they brushed whiskers. "How have you been, Skymoon?" the RiverClan she-cat asked, rocking back on her haunches. "You've been awful quiet of late."

Skymoon shrugged and sat down. "We fare well. One of our warriors was injured recently in a fight with WindClan, but she is recovering well." _Owlpaw is taking good care of her,_ she reminded herself, and pictured Stormbreeze curled up in the medicine den, growing stronger each passing day.

Pikefang, who sat just behind his Clanmate, gave a snort. "You ThunderClan and WindClan cats, always picking over dead rabbits on the borders," he growled. "Your war's lasted a long time."

Skymoon sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Hush, you trout's mouth," Thornfoot snapped, and gave his Clanmate a shove. "This is no place or time to talk of war."

Skymoon looked amongst the RiverClan cats who had gathered—Tangleheart was absent, but she sensed he was having a friendly discussion with Toadstep some steps away—Smolderfur was present, however, and so was Grayeyes. She dipped her head to the pair of them, and they returned the formal gesture.

"The poison is waning in its immediate strength," Grayeyes mewed. "It will not be long before we do not fear swimming in the river again."

"But the apprentices have been playing in the lake, and they're getting very good at splashing about in the shallows," Smolderfur added.

"Any new queens?" asked Skymoon carefully. Splashpaw and Mudpaw had long since been apprenticed, but not before their lives had been attempted by a sinister Dark Forest warrior. RiverClan had had trouble with kitting in their past, and it was taking time to recover.

Duckfeather beamed at the question alone. "Petalfur is expecting!"

"Petalfur?" Skymoon repeated, faintly surprised.

"We all thought she was too old to have kits," Thornfoot admitted. "But she surprised us all. They'll be Hollowflight's. He's so _proud_."

_Hollowflight._ "Where is he?" Skymoon demanded. "Is he here, at the Gathering?"

Pikefang was the first to answer. "Sure, he's here. He missed the last two Gatherings, he's not about to miss this one." He flicked his tail across the crowded Island. "He's over there, talking up those WindClan warriors."

Skymoon followed his gaze, and her heart almost immediately sank. She could make out a familiar blue-white tom with his sister, a sleek brown tabby, with the RiverClan tom. _Boundwind and Hawkflight. The last two cats I really want to see right now._ Her eyes narrowed. _Save for WindClan's youngest._

"Just put aside your disputes for the evening," Duckfeather encouraged. "This is a Gathering. We're meant to share tongues, even with our enemies." She realized something. "Where's Ferndust and Larkflight? You three are near inseparable!"

Skymoon twitched her tail uneasily at the mention of Larkflight's name. She hated pushing him away, but more than ever, she could only think about what was to come, what she had to do. _ I have no time for personal pleasures, it seems._ "They're here, somewhere," she murmured vaguely. Her insight gave her a less-than-helpful nudge at this point. "Actually, they're with Cedarfall and Nightwing, the young ShadowClan warriors. Sharing news, I'm certain."

_ShadowClan. Hookclaw._ Her claws slid out and dug into the ground. She could almost see Owlpaw with him, right now, with his friends and kin. _Whatever he's planning, Owlpaw, please don't let him get into your head. He is not to be trusted. Why aren't you with Jayfeather, anyway?_

Her eyes flashed to the Great Oak. Lionstar was in the branches. The other Clan leaders were gathered around him, eyes flashing with emotion. Even Sedgestar set aside her immediate anger for ThunderClan, long enough to hear his words in a time of peace.

At the base, amongst the roots, Jayfeather was speaking with his fellow medicine cats. They listened with pert ears and careful concern in their eyes. _He's telling them of the dangers that await us tonight. But will they listen, heed his words?_ Skymoon frowned. _They believe in StarClan and the dangers that threaten them. They will._

"But how have things been with the members of ThunderClan?" Grayeyes mewed, snapping Skymoon from her thoughts. "Thrushsong's little ones must be apprentices by now, surely." He looked over her shoulder. "But I don't see any new apprentices here."

"They are apprenticed," Skymoon responded. _No need to mention I'm one of their mentors, not yet._ "But only a quarter-moon ago. Lionstar intends to bring them to the next Gathering, so they gain a little more experience as warrior trainees first."

"Makes sense," Smolderfur reasoned. "Splashpaw and Mudpaw didn't see their first Gathering until after they'd trained for a moon—and _very hard_, at that." He gave a small purr and gave Duckfeather a playful nudge. "This one here certainly makes sure of that!"

"Splashpaw's a hard worker," Duckfeather mewed mildly. "She pushed herself harder than I do!"

"I hope you haven't been gossiping too much without us!" a friendly voice interrupted. Ferndust appeared from nowhere, with Larkflight, Cedarfall and Nightwing padding soundlessly just behind her. RiverClan tails rose up and purrs rumbled in their throats as they greeted one another.

"You haven't missed much," Duckfeather promised. "How does the prey run in ShadowClan?"

Cedarfall shrugged. "Well enough. There are no queens to worry over, not yet, so there are more warriors to hunt."

Nightwing sniggered and gave her sister a shove. "Not yet? I bet it's going to become official soon enough."

Cedarfall gaped at her. "Official about _what?_"

"You and Lakepelt." Nightwing purred. "I know you moon over him."

"I do _not_ moon over Lakepelt!" Cedarfall retorted hotly.

"He's not a bad match, you know," Thornfoot prodded playfully, catching on. "I bet you two would have _lovely_ little ones together."

Skymoon sighed inside and flattened her burning ears. Larkflight's gaze brushed over her only briefly, but she didn't miss the sense of quiet longing he harboured beneath his fur. _That could be us, you know. Raising a family, being the talk of our friends._

_You have no idea, Larkflight._ Skymoon lifted her chin and carefully met his sparkling green gaze. _No idea how much I love that thought. But you know I can't, and you know why._

Suddenly a commanding yowl rose above the clamour of the Gathering. Lionstar's deep mew cut through all other voices. "Let the Gathering commence, commanded by the truce of the full moon!"

The meaningless chatter died away and cats hurried to take their places. Larkflight brushed Skymoon's flanks and murmured, "Come sit with me."

Skymoon nodded and followed without complaint. She shot a worried glance at the sky as she passed beneath the stars' watchful shine; the clouds were rising quickly towards the full moon, and fear clawed at her heart.

Pelts seemed to stand out in the moonlight, ones she recognized—Icewing and Hollowflight from RiverClan, Harespring and Furzefur from WindClan, the elders Ratscar and Applefur from ShadowClan, and her own Clanmates.

_All are in danger._ Skymoon pressed close against Larkflight as she sat down, bodies all around her. _Please, hurry._

"Are you okay?" His muzzle briefly met her eartip.

Skymoon didn't pull away. "Nothing's okay, Larkflight."

"What do you mean?" Larkflight was worried, just as much as Dovewing had been. _So many I love, who I do not choose to burden them with..._ "Is something going to happen tonight?"

"I pray to StarClan that I'm wrong," Skymoon answered. _Where's Owlpaw?_

There—she was sitting with her mentor at the bottom of the Great Oak, looking very uneasy herself. Skymoon frowned. Did she know? But how? Had Jayfeather told her?

She spied Hookclaw sitting on the bulbous root beside Ivypool, tail curled over his paws, looking as dignified as any deputy.

"There is much to be said," Lionstar meowed, not backing down from his branch and eyes flashing with urgency. "And very little time to have it announced."

"What's he talking about?" a ShadowClan tom muttered disdainfully.

"Is he surrendering to Sedgestar?" a WindClan apprentice whispered to its mentor.

The mentor snorted. "Let's hope so."

"Perhaps," Tigerheart suggested, "we should share news of what the Clans have accomplished during this past moon. This is a Gathering, after all."

Lionstar's eyes flashed with impatience, but he said nothing. Nor did Skymoon. She dug her claws into the ground beneath her and looked uneasily at the sky. The clouds were drawing nearer to the full moon's shine. Within moments, darkness would shroud the Island. _Is this what they're waiting for?_

An icy wind rattled the branches of the surrounding trees. It seemed to claw straight through her fur. She shivered and fluffed herself up. Larkflight pressed closer against her.

"We are well in ShadowClan," Tigerheart meowed. "Though leaf-bare draws closer with every passing sunrise, the prey still runs and we are still full-fed. We have nothing else to report." He stepped back and Reedstar took his place. Though he was old—one of the few cats who remembered the old forest—he spoke smoothly and surely.

"We are well in RiverClan also," he announced. "Two of our apprentices have been made warriors—Frogpool and Marshwillow!"

The Clans cheered their names—Skymoon caught a glimpse of the two new RiverClan warriors, sitting proudly with their Clanmates with their chests puffed out with pride and eyes half-closed in delight. Despite herself, she stifled a small snort of amusement. Her first morning spent in RiverClan had been welcomed with Frogpool's paw at her throat.

_And Frogpool had her life attempted that same day,_ Skymoon remembered with a shudder. _But they're warriors now, no longer young apprentices._ Her former mentor, Hollowflight, stood close by, watching his former apprentice with satisfaction. _But she was in danger, and so was her mentor. They still are. They just don't know it yet—and nor do I,_ she realized. She could not see ahead, and Redwillow's words echoed in her head. _Why aren't my powers working the way they should?_

"WindClan prospers in leaf-fall," Sedgestar meowed as Reedstar stepped back. "The rabbits run swift over the moorland, and our apprentices are fast shaping into noble warriors."

Skymoon forced her fur to lie flat. The latest battle flashed in front of her mind—she'd seen Heathertail, deputy of WindClan, savagely clawing Stormbreeze near to StarClan. _Noble warriors indeed. Stormbreeze would be hunting with her aunt Icecloud if I hadn't intervened._

"Now, Lionstar," said Sedgestar dismissively, throwing a careless glance at her rival as she stepped back. "Do share what had you so worried before." Her eyes glinted, holding a challenge. "I'm sure we'd love to hear these new revelations."

Lionstar shot her a glare. "ThunderClan has news to report as well," he snapped. More calmly he announced, "Our apprentices have completed their assessments and become warriors, taking the names..."

Skymoon didn't listen. She glanced at the sky—the clouds were rolling higher and higher, blotting out the stars. _Hurry, please hurry..._Suddenly the Clans were cheering for ThunderClan's newest warriors. Ravenwing, Graywind and Clawstrike stood proudly amongst their Clanmates, whiskers tingling in pleasure. Their mentors stood a little way off, just as proud and contented.

They were standing in a large group of their Clanmates. They were safe, but Skymoon couldn't help but fear for them. _Perhaps they should have stayed behind. The Dark Forest would not care if they harmed the kin of a bearer of a Tigermark..._

"...and we have two new apprentices," Lionstar continued proudly, "Redpaw and Sunpaw." He paused. "Unfortunately they could not come tonight."

Surprised murmurs rang through the Clans. "Why didn't they come?" Larkflight whispered, sounding perplexed. "I would've thought you wanted to show off your new apprentice to the other Clans."

Skymoon spared him an anguished glance. "Larkflight, something—" She never had a chance to finish, for Lionstar suddenly continued.

"Before the Gathering began, I was told that there was a great threat descending upon us." His amber eyes narrowed at the whisperings of the cats gathered beneath him. "We must be prepared, for danger is coming to the lake."

Sedgestar lashed her tail. "What kind of danger? More so than the _abomination_ that lurks in your Clan?" Her eyes flashed across the gathered cats, searching for one in particular—Skymoon dropped inconspicuously low, immediately wary.

"There are no abominations," Lionstar snarled.

"Must we really discuss this war now?" Reedstar interrupted, rising quickly to his paws. "If Lionstar speaks of danger, then danger is coming. The lake has already suffered hard times of late. Poison, greencough, and Dark Forest invasions!" Fear descended, thick and heavy, over the assembled cats—they had heard, moons ago, of how a Dark Forest warrior had invaded RiverClan hunting grounds, attempting the lives of their young. Skymoon still remembered that Gathering clearly.

"We all know about the attack," Tigerheart dismissed. "But are you suggesting that there will be more of these? The Dark Forest was destroyed long ago, Lionstar." His eyes narrowed. "I thought that was what the duty of the Three was to do—destroy the Dark Forest."

"We stopped that invasion," Lionstar growled. "But it is _not_ over between them and us. Why else did Aura choose this time to arrive in the Clans? She was no gift from StarClan—she carried great wisdom to prepare us for what is to come."

Skymoon could sense the anger beneath Lionstar's words. _He still has not forgiven Aura for being the daughter of Sol._ Impatience flared beneath her fur. _He must stop living in the past, if we are ever to have a future!_

"She has caused more trouble than good," Sedgestar growled, lashing her tail.

"For _some_ Clans," Reedstar retorted. "Her wisdom protected many lives in my Clan!"

"Her arrival made my father mad and afraid," Tigerheart snapped.

Lionstar lifted his chin—the fading starshine caught on the old scars around his throat, a permanent reminder of Rowanstar's madness. "Your father wanted Aura for himself," he retorted coldly. "ThunderClan was defending their territory. Do you wish to follow in his footsteps?"

Tigerheart curled back his lips. "Are you insulting my father?"

"Stop this!" Dewtuft cried, springing to her paws. She met her leader's eyes and urged, "Look what your arguing is causing! The moon is going dark!" She turned her gaze up to the sky, and in unison, so did the other cats. Clouds swelled ever closer to the shining moon.

Jayfeather stifled an impatient hiss and rose to his feet. "StarClan possesses no such power anymore!" he snapped impatiently at the ShadowClan medicine cat. "They can no less send clouds to cover the sky than they can manifest in the living world!" Behind him, Owlpaw's eyes suddenly widened, and Skymoon immediately understood.

_She was visited again this night—by that SkyClan spirit. He told her something—enough to let her know of what is to come._

"Then what do those clouds mean?" demanded Sedgestar, bristling.

Kestrelflight met his leader's eyes. "Danger is coming," he responded quietly. "We must be ready for it."

"What danger?" Reedstar demanded. "The Dark Forest?"

Before any cat could answer, a mirthless, delighted hiss rose up from the back of the gathered Clans. "Not quite, my dear."

Skymoon's blood turned to ice and she twisted around, as did every other warrior and apprentice in the vicinity. She already knew who it was, long before she caught sight of a faded orange-and-white pelt.

"You amuse me," Mapleshade snarled. "But do you know what amuses me the most?" Her eyes effortlessly found Skymoon's. They were as cold and dark as the young warrior remembered them. "The fact that you had a chance to prevent this—and you didn't, out of so-called _mercy_."

Cats backed away, and Skymoon felt countless gazes scorch her fur. She rose to her paws and stalked forward. "I warned you," she told her quietly. "You didn't choose to heed it."

Mapleshade spat. "_We_ warned _you_," she replied. "And _you_ didn't choose to heed us."

"Skymoon!" She twisted around at the sound of her name—Reedstar was standing tall on his branch, eyes dark and solemn. "What is she saying?"

Skymoon suddenly understood—why her powers had not informed her of this. Why the moon was going dark. It all made perfect sense, in those few short heartbeats. "Nightmares," she answered, and twisted back to face Mapleshade. "You cowardly mouse-heart."

Mapleshade sneered. "Don't take it personally, dear. We're saving our energy—and so should you."

The moon went out.

* * *

The shadows moved, and red eyes glowed in the blackness. "Get back!" Skymoon screeched. "All of you, get away from the trees, _now!_"

But a choked cry of disbelief rose above her own. "What are _those?_"

The Nightmares stepped out of the bracken—they wore the forms of cats, of warriors. _Dark Forest warriors, to make this all the more bitter._ Soundlessly they closed in on all sides on the Clans. "Get back," Skymoon repeated, struggling to fight down her rising terror. _More than ever, I must be strong. StarClan willing, I am their champion!_ "If they divide you from the others you're dead."

Mapleshade laughed. "They already _are_," she said.

_The cats who died in my dreams._ Skymoon whirled around. Lionstar still stood on the Great Oak with the other Clan leaders, frozen with disbelief and their first experience of a nightmare made real—their warriors milled beneath, pushed back towards the roots of the oak tree. Some were bristling and showing their claws, but their eyes failed to hide the terror they tried to conceal.

_Where's Owlpaw?_ Her eyes found the tawny-and-white apprentice, staring in rigid horror at the Nightmares, wide-eyed as an owl. Jayfeather could not see, but he sensed the danger all around them. He stepped in front of Owlpaw, bristling and lashing his tail.

It was so dark she could hardly see herself. Skymoon took a deep breath and stood her ground, even as she heard two sets of pawsteps sound behind her, felt the scent of the Dark Forest wreath around her as Nightmares closed in. "Your powers are _useless_ here," Mapleshade sneered. "No matter what you may think, Skymoon, you will always be _weak_."

Skymoon shook her head. "You're wrong, Mapleshade. I'm more than you think." She called on her inborn powers, felt them flicker in her blood. Her fear held her back, but she forced it away. Now was not the time to be afraid..._never_ be afraid...

Coldness penetrated her mind. _Nightmares of the past. Dead cats everywhere. You can't save them._ She shook it clear, but it started to come back. _You can try, but you just can't. Tiger, lion, leopard. A tiger alone cannot stand against a dark dawn..._And maybe they were right. Her powers were flickering and dying...

"_Skymoon!_"

A desperate wail sliced through the rising darkness like claws through fur—Skymoon snapped her head up, her fear forgotten in an instant. _Larkflight!_ The mottled brown-and-black tom was staring at her with horrified green eyes.

_He's frightened for me..._Skymoon remembered the morning when the bear had invaded the forest—how she had woken from the Nightmare Mapleshade had sent her, and he was there to banish the fear from her mind, make her calm and focused.

He stood amidst the others, afraid, but not of the Nightmares.

_He's afraid for _me_._ The thought flashed through Skymoon's mind like wildfire. _Mapleshade's Nightmares don't affect him. They never have, and they never will, because Larkflight has no fears other than for me._

_And if he can withstand against the Nightmares, then so can I._ Warmth trickled through her blood, and her claws slid out. The Nightmares around her blinked in confusion and their eyes glowed brighter, but Skymoon could feel the tiger stirring. _I am the queen of dreams, a daughter of the sky, tiger of the Four. I will not be afraid anymore!_

Mapleshade sensed it too late—she leapt, but in an instant, Time slowed to a crawl. The air became thick and heavy. As Skymoon straightened, she felt the last of her fear die away. Her cyan stripes burned bright as fire over her dusky gray fur.

Skymoon twisted away. Time broke—Mapleshade crashed to the ground, and instantly claws met her shoulder. Mapleshade screeched and pulled away; the Nightmares stepped back, suddenly wary.

Astonished gasps broke out behind her. Skymoon didn't turn; her ears picked out the disbelieving whispers. All eyes of the Clans trained to her, and as Mapleshade staggered to her paws, she blinked in absolute bemusement.

"Impossible!" she snarled. "You have no power here, _tiger!_"

"You're wrong!" Cherrypelt flanked her former apprentice, and met Mapleshade's gaze with fire in her eyes. "Skymoon has more power than you could ever dream of, Dark Forest mange-pelt, and more of a reason to fight."

"You should have known better, Mapleshade." Skymoon felt Dovewing brush her other flanks; the dangerous edge of a mother's love thrummed in her voice. "You should have known better than to challenge my daughter."

A third set of paws was heard, and Larkflight's growl filled the air. "You so much as lay _one claw_ on her, I'll rip all of yours off."

Mapleshade sneered. "Fools. All of you, fools." Her eyes gleamed dangerously. "And now you will all _die_."

She raised her voice in a fierce yowl. "_Slaughter them! Kill the betrayers!_"

Skymoon whirled around—the Nightmares rose as one and leapt. Eyes widened, claws unsheathed and battle cries rose in warrior throats; then chaos was unleashed. Dovewing, Cherrypelt and Larkflight shrieked as they were assaulted by dark bodies.

Skymoon said nothing as Mapleshade sprang, merely raised her claws to do battle with her deadly enemy once more.

* * *

**A/N: Muahaharrr, a cliffhanger! Will Skymoon have the strength to save her Clanmates and those who are in danger? Or does Redwillow speak true?**

**Next time, chapter eleven: Bloodmoon. The battle, and the result of it, shall be seen...**


End file.
